Palisades Council Members Call Fourth of July Parade 'Boring'

A couple Pacific Palisades Community Council members took issue Thursday night with the quality of this year's , calling it "boring" and "bad."

Area 1 Alternate Carol Bruch and Public Safety Advisor Amy Kalp said the parade has been a disappointment in recent years and both women want to work more closely with the Palisades Americanism Parade Association (PAPA) to address to issue.

"If they got rid of all the cars," Bruch said. "They’re boring. [With] the bands, walking groups and people that actually do something, the parade wouldn’t be running long anymore. It would be snappy and be fun."

Bruch said the parade has been boring in previous years and she declined a request to attend last week.

"I got a note that a person’s 8-year-old boy was bored," she added. "And it does reflect badly on Pacific Palisades with a boring parade and delays in performances."

Kalp agreed with Bruch, saying the community or a council should volunteer their time for PAPA. Noting the parade is nationally known, she suggested more floats be entered.

"Obviously, it was money," Kalp said. "People didn’t contribute much this year. Everyone around me was bored. Kids were playing on their computers or were crying."

Kalp noted there was a lot of gaps.

"The parade was 20 minutes late starting because traffic enforcement didn’t stop people from going down Via De La Paz westbound."

Council member Gil Dembo, of the Temescal Canyon Association, told Bruch and Kalp that PAPA needs all the help it can get, and volunteers need to step up to donate time and money.

"We're not the Rose Bowl Parade," he said. "I've been watching the parade for some 40 years. It’s a hometown parade. It’s not a Macy’s [Day] parade. It’s a little bit funky. We can’t expect giant balloons or some gimmicks."