OCEANSIDE — Red, white and blue flooded Coast Highway on June 24 as thousands of spectators watched the annual Oceanside Independence Parade.
An estimated 5,000-6,000 people gathered to watch the parade featuring 137 groups in its procession.
Although Oceanside has a long history of hosting Independence Day parades — pictures dating back to the turn of the 20th century prove it — the parade in its current form has been around for 27 years.
MainStreet Oceanside, a nonprofit organization, started managing the parade about 10 years ago.
Each year, MainStreet Oceanside decks out the parade route in patriotic colors and donates thousands of small American flags to pass out to spectators, an idea CEO Rick Wright came up with years ago.
“I thought we needed more flags — more red, white and blue,” Wright said.
This year, MainStreet Oceanside passed out nearly 5,000 flags during the parade that lasted approximately two hours and 15 minutes.
Typically scheduled on the Saturday before July 4, the parade was a week earlier this year due to the availability of city resources.
“It’s all hands on deck for the city when it comes to the parade,” Wright said. “The entire public works department comes out to do the hard part, which is closing the streets and setting up barricades, then the police come out to patrol the barricades. … It takes a lot of people, so the city gives us a comfortable date.”
The parade committee is busy months in advance, with monthly meetings beginning in January becoming weekly meetings the closer the date approaches.
Elected officials, including Rep. Mike Levin, Supervisor Jim Desmond, Assemblywoman Laurie Davies, Mayor Esther Sanchez, Deputy Mayor Ryan Keim and Councilmember Peter Weiss, Councilmember Eric Joyce and Councilmember Rick Robinson, followed members of the Marines and Navy at the head of the parade.
The congressman reportedly circled back to walk the parade route a second time with a group of supporters.
“(Levin) loves the parade,” Wright said.
The parade also honored four people recognized as “Hometown Heroes” for their contributions to the community, including Herb Meyer, Jimmy Figueroa, Anne Garrett and Daniel Guillou.
Meyer, 87, a teacher and football coach in Oceanside for nearly 50 years who died in April, was inducted into the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, El Camino High School and California High School Football Halls of Fame.
Figueroa, an Oceanside native who advocates for underserved populations, now serves as the executive director of Operation HOPE-North County, a homeless shelter for families with children and single women in Vista.
Before his current role, Figueroa helped develop Resilience Community Mentoring, the juvenile reentry program in Oceanside, in partnership with the San Diego County Probation Department and Vista Community Clinic.
Figueroa currently holds leadership roles in the North County Gang Commission, Oceanside Police and Fire Commission, MiraCosta College Foundation and Oceanside Theatre Company.
Garrett dedicated more than 12 years to spreading the healthy lifestyle message of the Move Your Feet Before You Eat Foundation.
“You can experience a lot with your many miles of smiles, with friends and family no matter your running or walking pace,” Garrett previously said.
Guillou is a wheelchair rugby champion, math educator, volunteer and dog lover.
“I broke my neck when I was 16 years old in Wisconsin, but that did not stop me from pursuing my dreams,” Guillou said. “I moved to Oceanside in 1994 and love it.”
Guillou won a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics playing wheelchair rugby and worked in the math learning center at MiraCosta College for 17 years. He also volunteered with his second service dog from Canine Companions to comfort children with special needs, and he continues to volunteer for the organization.
Wright noted that the early date for the parade allowed groups like the 1st Marine Division Band to perform without competition from other events closer to July 4.
Despite all the work it takes to make the parade happen, Wright believes it’s worth it.
“We get such great feedback from the community,” he said. “The parade is one of my favorite events because it brings the community together to celebrate.”
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