Parade cancelled for this year
By Kara Chalmers
The Saratoga Community Parade, a fall event that has been held periodically by different groups over the years, has been cancelled this year. The reason, according to Saratogan Susan Brandenburg, who coordinated the 1999 parade, is that no one stepped forward to organize it.
"The main thing that stopped us is not having a chairman," Brandenburg said. "It's really a problem because you need someone to do the coordination and organization."
In January 2000, the Saratoga Community Parade Committee, which no longer exists, began looking for volunteers, according to Warren Lampshire, who was chairman of the 1995, 1996 and 1998 parades. "It's a long process," Lampshire said. "Usually, you have to start in January or February for an October event."
The parade has usually included marching bands, floats, dignitaries and community organizations. Lampshire said that the cost of staging the parade has been between $8,000 and $8,500.
Last year, Brandenburg told the parade committee that she would be unavailable to coordinate this year's parade.
Brandenburg said it is too late to schedule marching bands and other organizations for an October parade. It is also too late to obtain the permits necessary for closing the streets. But if an organizer steps forward, the parade could happen at a later date, perhaps in the spring. According to Brandenburg, the parade committee has enough funding to stage the event.
The 1998 Community Parade, cut from the city budget in March 1997, was canceled because the committee could not raise enough money to put it on. The parade returned last year on Oct 3, 1999, and marked the 15-year anniversary of Saratoga's sister city relationship with Muko-shi, Japan.
Since 1995, when the parade was first named the Saratoga Community Parade, groups such as the Saratoga Rotary Club, the city of Saratoga, the Sister City of Saratoga, Saratoga National Bank, Jake's Pizza, Green Valley Disposal and the Chamber of Commerce have sponsored the event.
The parade is not part of Celebrate Saratoga!, a street dance that the Chamber of Commerce stages each September. The parade usually falls the week after Celebrate--except for this year.
People interested in volunteering their time to the parade effort can email Susan Brandenburg at parade@saratoga-ca.com.
|
Saratoga, California Since 1955
