2009-11-20 19:23:04 -
The tenth annual Comcast America’s Children’s Holiday Parade, which will be telecast nationally via public television stations, will be held in downtown Oakland on Saturday, Dec. 5.
The parade, which contains some 90 entertaining units, will march down the streets of Oakland, stepping off at 2 p.m. at 11 th and Broadway, working its way up to 20 th and Broadway, and then turning right to Lake Merritt.
The event will feature almost 20 high school marching bands (most of which march 80-140 members or more), almost 40 children’s favorite cartoon and storybook characters, giant balloons, colorful floats, and Santa Claus himself.
Consider these fun characters who will be on hand – honorary grand marshal Miss Rosa (host of “PBS KIDS”); children’s grand marshal Sid
the Science Kid; Six Flags “FAB FIVE,” including Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck; Fisher Price Little People; and many more. California’s Great America will be joining for the first time with the Peanuts Gang, including Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy and Sally.
Television commentary will be handled by popular actor/entertainer Mark Curry, who has been making people laugh for more than two decades, and by Claudine Wong, a reporter for the KTVU/Fox 2 News. An Oakland native, Curry is most famous for his starring role in the TV hit “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper.” He also had a recurring part as Robert Soulard, Drew’s boss, on “The Drew Carey Show,” and was the host of Comedy Central’s “Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush.”
Other highlights of this year’s parade include.
- The Comcast float featuring a “Beauty and the Beast” theme. Its 55-foot length marks the longest float in parade history, with the Beast fully animated and reaching 17 feet at its highest point.
- The Tap Dancing Christmas Trees and other live performances.
- The California Aggie Marching Band from the University of California at Davis and the Pittsburgh High School Pirate Show Band, both of which march 150 members.
- A 25-member clown brigade consisting of local business executives.
- Chomper, a tooth-brushing crocodile, developed by Oakland-based Rascals & Routines, which introduces daily routines such as bedtime, morning-time and mealtime into playful adventures.
This year’s parade is the tenth annual, and it’s already become one of only three Christmas parades in America to be broadcast nationally. This year it will be picked up by public broadcasting stations throughout the nation and in parts of Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam, as well as by stations throughout California, including KTVU/Fox 2 and KQED in the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area, and by KTEH in San Jose.
It will also be broadcast by Comcast and Peralta TV stations throughout the Bay Area.
The parade was founded and is currently managed by the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
The Comcast America’s Children’s Parade is also a holiday championship for the marching band circuit, sanctioned by the Northern California Band Association. Among the bands that will participate are the Fairfield Scarlet Brigade with 150 members, Napa High School, the Pittsburg High School Marching Pirates Show Band, and the Mission San Jose High School Band.
The parade truly is a national event, with parade items, entries and volunteers coming in from ten different states, and from as far away as Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.
Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of CommerceHank Masler, 510-874-4808
