On the first Saturday of every March, the City of Laguna Beach plays host to nearly a hundred marching units in the annual Patriot’s Day Parade.Last Saturday, March 7th, the 49th event was held and proved to be another successful year of honoring the men and women of the US military, past and present. The parade route runs from Park to Glenneyre and down Forest, closing down most of the main streets and making it a nightmare to cross town.
The festivities kicked off with a rousing pre-parade performance by the Laguna Beach Concert Band in the Peppertree parking lot. A troop of Laguna Beach Boy Scouts carrying the Patriot’s Day Parade banner proceeded an LBPD motor escort to commence the march. Of the 93 in the lineup, KX FM 104.7 representatives were the 50th unit to roll through the downtown streets and on the KX-mobile, a 1960 canary yellow El Camino. Morning show host Tyler Russell, mid-day show host Jason Feddy (and his pooch, Mrs. Pickles) & afternoon show host Brian Holst were among the KX delegates, alongside several volunteer DJs.
Each year, the Patriot’s Day Parade Committee selects an array of honorees in the categories of citizen, junior citizen, artist, athlete, veteran & Grand Marshal; this year, the Grand Marshal was Olympic Gold Medal swimmer and Orange County native Janet Evans.