By Belmont Shore was bursting with holiday spirit as Christmas themed floats, fake snow and a herd of Corgis disguised as reindeers filled 2nd Street.
The 36th annual Belmont Shore Christmas parade Saturday, which is organized by the Belmont Shore Business Association, brought hundreds of Long Beach community members together. The parade began at Livingston Drive and looped at Bayshore Avenue.
As Long Beach State club cheer and a rowdy men’s volleyball team rolled through the parade, they were met with support and loud cheers from the crowd.
“It’s great to see my old school and the athletics teams in the parade because it brings back fond memories,” LBSU ‘89 alumna Sharon Stone said. “It’s a way to share my college years and memories with my own kids.”
The parade featured floats from many different individuals and organizations throughout the community, including current and prospective councilmen and women, the Port of Long Beach, Long Beach Airport, animal rescue services as well as various elementary, middle and high schools from the surrounding area.
“I love coming out to support and cheer for my friends and classmates while they march in the parade,” Millikan High School student Madison Nguyen said. “My brother is in the marching band and this is my favorite time of year to see him perform.”
In addition to bringing Christmas joy, the parade also brought a traffic jam. The streets surrounding 2nd Street were closed from 2 p.m. on the day of the parade, leaving residents and employees with limited parking.
“The parade is right in the middle of tons of businesses and a residential area and visitors usually take up the spaces that my neighbors and I would usually park in,” Belmont Shore resident Aiden Ross said. “The city or whoever organizes the parade needs to come up with a better system that won’t disrupt the people who actually live here.”
Judging by the “awws” coming from the crowd, the So Cal Corgi Group seemed to be one of the highlights of the night. The community of Corgi owners come together with their canines for beach days and other events throughout the year. The group, which consisted of about 200 dogs and their humans, encouraged members to dress up their dogs in holiday-themed costumes.
“My favorite part of the parade was definitely seeing all the cute Corgis, especially the ones being pulled in Christmas wagons or their own little floats,” Long Beach State sociology major Daniella Hampton said. “The corgis took up a good stretch of the parade too, but I don’t think anyone was complaining.”
