Santa Clarita Fourth Of July Parade Canceled For Second Consecutive Year

The 2021 Fourth of July parade has been canceled for the second consecutive year due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Despite Los Angeles County now being in the less restrictive “red” tier, officials with the parade planning committee do not know what the next four months will hold prompting them to cancel any chance of having a parade, said Leon Worden, the event organizer of the parade, since 1996.

“An organized parade that uses city streets requires permits from the City,” Worden said.

Due to Los Angeles County and the state not knowing what the current COVID situation will be in July, the City is not able to issue permits, according to officials. 

Worden also stated, as of April 1, parades can only allow 20 percent participation in the “red” and “orange” tiers and 25 percent in the “yellow” tier. 

“What that means is that we would have to tell eight out of 10 kids, sorry you can’t ride your bike in the parade this year,” Worden said. 

Other challenges the planning committee had to take into consideration include making sure all the residents exceeding the limit allowed in the parade are kept out. 

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In order to have the event work, “we would have to call in every cop in Los Angeles County to keep out everyone else,” Worden said. 

To organize an event such as the Fourth of July Parade, Worden said it takes about three to four months to get all the required permits and assistance from Public Works, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and to allow enough time for residents to reserve a seat. 

“Because no government agency can answer the question, ‘can there be a parade this year,’ we are out of time for planning the parade,” Worden said. 

Although the parade is canceled, residents are still encouraged to celebrate the country’s independence. 

“We are not canceling our patriotism, we are having to honor the state’s requirement to space people,” said Laurene Weste, a member of the parade planning committee.

However, Worden and Weste are hoping that events can go back to “normal” by next year. 

“We will be roaring back next year no matter what,” Worden said. 

The City has set plans to have some kind of Independence Day event for residents to participate in, according to officials. 

“There will be an organized participatory event on the Fourth of July that will be organized by the City of Santa Clarita, similar to last year,” Worden said. 

In 2020 residents and business owners had the opportunity to participate in a Fourth of July Patriotic tour. 

The event allowed residents and business owners to decorate their home and business fronts, allowing residents to drive throughout the City to celebrate the Country’s independence.              

Since 1932, the parade has weaved its way through Old Town Newhall with volunteers showing off their patriotic-themed floats to several thousand spectators, including KHTS on their parade-style fire engine. 

The only times the parade has been canceled was during national emergencies, such as World War II in 1942-1945 and the global coronavirus pandemic 2020 and now 2021, according to Worden. 

“We need to get our flags out and do things in our neighborhoods, and compete in patriotic displays,” Weste said.

Regardless of what events happen on the Fourth of July, Worden knows that Santa Clarita residents will find a way to celebrate.

“People always manage to show their patriotism on the Fourth of July,” Worden added.

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