Shoreline Parade - lack of interest, not lack of funds

The Drill Team is adorable, but there are few spectators to appreciate them
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

By Diane Hettrick

City officials were quick to point out that the Celebrate Shoreline parade is not being cancelled because of a lack of funds, but rather a lack of interest on the part of the public.

The parade takes a significant amount of staff work to stage, but fewer and fewer people have been attending over the past few years. Essentially it was greater effort and greater cost for decreasing returns.

The same amount of money is allocated for Celebrate Shoreline but it will be put into expanding and revitalizing the festival, rather than a parade.

According to Council Member Jesse Salomon, 

"While the parade will be cancelled there will still be a major event, likely at Cromwell Park.  We are hoping to have more food vendors, music and have more of a festival atmosphere instead of a parade. You could think of it as a much more beefed up event than what we've had at Ridgecrest Elementary at the end of the parade line."

Civic leaders I spoke to were a bit shocked at how fast the decision was made, and the lack of public notice and input, but agreed with the reasoning. The City will continue to co-sponsor other public events during that time, such as ShoreDog's DogFest.