> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Fourth of July beckons - URL: https://www.smdp.com/fourth-of-july-beckons/ - Published: 2007-07-03T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T02:12:38.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Events, Ocean Park, #archive-import *Independence Day for the whole family* *By REAGAN WHEELER Special to the Daily Press* MAIN STREET Each year around this time, the stars and stripes start showing up on houses, business storefronts, even paper plates, commemorating the Fourth of July. Nothing new there. This year, however, the street itself will be awash in star-spangled regalia — decorating cars, bikes, floats and the revelers themselves during the 1st Annual Fourth of July Parade. Anticipated to become an annual event, the procession will be a “family-style” parade, according to Todd Roberts, co-owner of ZJ Boarding House. Roberts, who along with his business partner, Mike Pierson, is donating a surfboard for the best-decorated wagon, first got involved when a former neighbor — Joel Brand — asked for him for some creative ideas. Brand is a volunteer on the Ocean Park Association’s parade committee. The Ocean Park Association, in conjunction with the North of Montana Association, is presenting the parade. “We wanted to keep it simple,” said Roberts. “It is a chance for the neighborhood and families to interact and become active with an event.”Getting an early start on a holiday morning will likely be a change of pace for many participants, as a large number of children are expected to be strolling along the route. Joey Rosenblum, 11, expects to take part in the parade. A clarinet player and a member of the Santa Monica Pony League All Star Band, Rosenblum wasn’t planning on playing in the parade until recently. “It should be fun,” he said Monday afternoon. Local organizations, such as Borderline and Santa Monica Girl Scouts Troop # 840, and Roosevelt Elementary School have signed up to walk with banners and ride bikes. The Police Activities League will have martial arts students breaking boards and demonstrating basic moves along the way, too. Other groups expected to take part include the Santa Monica Playhouse, Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, Cub Scout Parks 97 and 67, and Pacific Park. The Andre Comeau Band, a folk bluegrass band from the Los Angeles area, has been designated as the final group in the parade. The parade is scheduled to set off at 9:30 a.m. in front of Santa Monica City Hall. Parade spectators can pull up their lawn chairs and blankets along Main Street all the way south to Marine Street. The parade will wind up at the beach parking lot, south of Ocean Park Boulevard. The entire route is approximately 1.7 miles and is expected to include more than 700 participants. With an early start time and so many people in the parade, groups are expected to line up as early as 7:30 a.m., said Ted Winterer, President of the Ocean Park Association. The Borderline neighborhood, also known as Dogtown, will have skateboarders, bicyclists and walkers from the area, all decked out in traditional red, white, and blue clothing. The small, core-group has been actively getting people involved in the parade, but have had slight difficulties getting a large group together with many families going out of town for the holiday. “I think that later, a couple years from now, people will probably be more interested in the parade,” said an excited Nicole Picard, representative for the Borderline neighborhood. Being that the parade is a first-year event, many groups are having the same troubles getting large numbers of participants to sign on. However, with 58 groups registered, the parade should still line Main Street for close to one hour. Groups like the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) are “small, but mighty,” said Deborah Sharp, Regent of the Santa Monica DAR. Sharp will be riding in a convertible with two other DAR members — her sister Suzanne and their 90-year-old mother, Harriet. One group that had no trouble getting participants was Roosevelt Elementary School. The school should be well represented on Wednesday, with more than 120 parents, kids and teachers in the parade. Kids have decorated scooters and bicycles and have chosen to wear funny costumes. “We hope this will be the beginning of a new tradition,”said Karen Rigberg, a booster club co-president and webmaster at Roosevelt. Rigberg’s two children will also be taking part. Recently retired principal Jerry Harris was selected as the Grand Marshall for the parade. As an educator and administrator in Santa Monica for 40 years, Harris said he is “deeply honored and pleased” to be the Grand Marshall. In addition to organizations and businesses, a number of individual families have decided to take part in the festivities. The Freericks of Santa Monica are one such family, with mother Alicia, and two children, ages 9 and 11, pedaling along in patriotic red, white and blue. Freericks said on Monday that she was “thrilled” to see Santa Monica putting on a parade and immediately encouraged her children to participate. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 3, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/070307.pdf?ref=smdp.com)