The 92nd annual Santa Clarita Valley Fourth of July Parade had thousands of people make their way to several parts of Old Town Newhall and Valencia on Thursday morning to celebrate Independence Day, embrace freedom and show off their patriotism with music, unique floats and vintage cars.
Local residents and people from various parts of Los Angeles County began filling Main Street with blankets and lawn chairs in Old Town Newhall at 7 a.m. to get a good viewing spot for the annual SCV Fourth of July Parade.
Some of the attendees grabbed a fresh stack of pancakes from the SCV Rotary’s All You Can Eat Pancake and Sausage Breakfast or participated in the Santa Clarita Runners’ 40th annual Independence Day Classic Run.
Over 100 floats, vintage cars and trucks passed through the parade route, many of them draped in American flags, party streamers, garlands and pom poms. Participants of the parade included local city officials, politicians, schools, businesses and nonprofit organizations.
The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and Los Angeles County Fire Department also made an appearance with first responder vehicles and honked their way down the road for spectators as they cheered and swayed their American flags back and forth.
During the parade each float was also judged by a committee of community members for the chance to be crowned the winner.
This year’s theme was “The Freedom to Play, Celebrating Our Parks, Trails and Open Space,” and the grand marshal was City Manager Ken Striplin.
Among the panel of judges was husband and wife duo Patty and RJ Kelly, who watch the parade every year and have judged the parade floats for about a decade, said Patty.
RJ, a retired Marine and veteran, thinks it’s phenomenal to see families come together to celebrate the Fourth of July and embrace the special day.
“Fourth of July means freedom. Freedom to express, freedom to discuss, freedom to worship, and I think that is a large part of our history, our culture, and the United States,” he said. “Hopefully [families] are instilling into their young what the Fourth of July means and what the Constitution means.”
Among the large crowd was Pacoima resident Eugenio Ramirez, who was watching the annual tradition for the first time with his 4-year-old grandchild Emily, who wore an American flag-themed dress.
Ramirez said that although he wasn’t born in the United States, he has celebrated the national holiday since he first migrated from Mexico in 1995 and now has begun including his first grandchild in the tradition.
“I wanted to teach her about her country and her nation,” Ramirez said in Spanish about why he attended the parade with his granddaughter. “I came here [to this country] seeking opportunities and I have been granted that and much more. She was born here in the land of dreams and freedom. I am teaching her to love her country because there are many opportunities here for her and she should never take it for granted.”
“Maybe she won’t understand that until she is older, but showing her this celebration is something I know she will enjoy,” he added.
Longtime SCV community member Linda Pederson has noticed how much the parade has grown over the years since she first began watching it in 1966.
“This is one of the few [small]-town parades that still exists,” she said. “We get so many great people out, it’s just a tradition,” she said. “We’ve gone from a very small community to a lot [bigger] and we’re still coming together.”
The 2024 parade winners included:
• Sweepstakes: Republicans of Santa Clarita.
• Best of Theme: Hart High School Football.
• Best Decorated: Newhall-Canyon Country-Valencia Farmers Market.
