Photos by Daniel Deitch
The Toluca Lake Magical Holiday Parade made its triumphant return on Christmas Eve, exceeding even the loftiest expectations set by residents and community leader Craig Strong, who spearheaded the parade’s revival.
“I continue to receive letters, texts, emails and neighbors stopping me on the street to express their appreciation and gratitude for not only bringing this event back but creating a new spectacular show for this neighborhood,” Strong says. “They were all pleasantly surprised, especially those who never saw it before. They had no idea what was coming. At some points prior, neither did we!”
Despite facing last-minute challenges and working against tight deadlines, the organizing team pulled off a remarkable event featuring a vintage cable car, an array of holiday floats, festive dancers, carolers, Mr. and Mrs. Claus and other costumed characters, and much more.
“Everyone was working as hard as they could in the week leading up to the parade to meet the deadline,” Strong shares. “The main challenge was getting the trolley to Toluca Lake and getting it to run. It needed brakes and many other things to get it running. During the parade, the brakes went out, but we were able to repair them and keep it rolling.”
The Holiday Parade has been a favorite annual event since 1982, when a local group of friends drove around in a pickup truck singing Christmas carols to their neighbors. That evolved into an 18-wheeler caroling truck that would make the rounds of the neighborhood, spreading music and cheer. When the truck’s original owners could no longer keep it going, a group of residents stepped up in 2018 to purchase the vehicle and sustain the parade for a few more years, before financial and logistical obstacles again threatened its existence. The parade’s 2023 revival and revamp by a group of dedicated volunteers marked a welcome return for this beloved tradition, and with continued community support, they hope to be able to expand the route for 2024.
Despite having some nerves on the day of the event, Strong found immense joy in witnessing the community’s response to the parade. “My favorite part was watching all the smiling faces and people holding up signs that said, ‘We love you,’ ‘Thank you,’ etc.,” he says.