El Centro gears up for City, Chamber Christmas festivities
EL CENTRO — As El Centro and Imperial Valley residents gear up for the Christmas season, the Imperial Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce (IVRCC) and City of El Centro are doing the same as they work at putting together the annual Christmas Tree Lighting & Street Fair, as well as the 76th annual El Centro Christmas Parade & Festival.
The IVRCC and City of El Centro held a joint press conference, which they broadcasted on Facebook, announcing the events to “kick off the holiday season,” according an “El Centro Events” the social media post.
El Centro’s Christmas Tree Lighting & Street Fair will be held this Friday, December 2, at 11th and Main streets, in front of the El Centro Police Department. Friday’s Tree Lighting & Street Fair are being put on by the City of Centro, city personnel said.
It will be a “great family event” featuring live performances from the Southwest High School Orchestra, the “Original Cool Deal (OCD) Rock Band,” the lighting of the city’s decked out Christmas tree, and a special appearance by Santa Claus, according to the social media post.
The Street Fair portion will include food, artists, and other vendors, according to the post. The event will be hosted by El Centro Mayor Tomás Oliva. The Christmas Tree Lighting & Street Fair festivities start Friday at 5 p.m.
“We wait all year to get here and here we are,” Oliva said in the broadcasted press conference. “Friends and neighbors seeing each other again is what we’re all about.”
Day two of the holiday kick off will feature more than 100 entries in the El Centro Christmas parade “and we’re still accepting more, tentatively,” said IVRCC Director of Operation and first-year event coordinator, Kayla Kirby-Ramirez.
The Christmas Parade and subsequent Festival at Bucklin Park are being put on by the Regional Chamber, according to City of El Centro personnel.
“We’re really excited for the City to kick off December and the holidays, and for us to continue into the next morning,” Kirby-Ramirez said. “This year’s Christmas Parade theme is ‘Let it Snow with Frosty the Snowman.’”
The Christmas Festival will start at 9 a.m. and run through the parade until 2 p.m. on the eastern parking lot of Bucklin Park, according to an event flyer, while the Christmas Parade will run from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The El Centro Christmas Parade is set to step off from 12th and Main streets in El Centro, will turn onto Eighth Street, and head south until stopping at Aurora Drive at Bucklin Park, as-is tradition from years past.
The Christmas Parade will feature a bevy of local school drill teams, cheerleading squads, sports, ten high school bands, folkloric dancers, and a variety of companies, including the Presenting Sponsor for this year’s parade, El Centro Regional Medical Center, Kirby-Ramirez said.
“Last year was our first year back after COVID and the turnout wasn’t quite as much because of that lingering hesitancy in the year, which we understand,” she said. “What we’ve noticed this year, as ready as the community was to come back, they’re twice as ready this year; so we’re noticing things getting back to full capacity and then some … and so we just wanted to invite everyone to these events.”
“The big surprise this year is we are doing a Christmas Festival at the end of the Parade at Bucklin Park (again),” she said.
Kirby-Ramirez said guests are encouraged to get something to eat and/ or ‘ buy local’ from the various vendors at Bucklin Park for the Christmas Festival, where mini-pancakes, champurrado, breakfast burritos, tacos and more will be sold even before the parade starts.
In addition, “we’ll have different crafters, candles, jewelry, children’s toys and info vendors,” she said.
“We know that when the parade is over people like to get their Christmas shopping done and buy decorations because it’s a Saturday and the weather is nice, so if the community is going to do that anyway why not do that right in Bucklin Park and support your local vendors,” Kirby-Ramirez said.
She said while manpower has been scarce this year and the Festival will be on a smaller scale than years past, Kirby-Ramirez said “we have been very fortunate to have a lot of volunteers and organizations come together for the parade” and “we’re hoping that the outcome shows that the community does want to support local vendors and spend that extra time after the parade.”
“We have lots of entries and band and schools that are participating, and what we really appreciate is the community that comes out and participates,” Kirby-Ramirez said. “We’re really excited.”
“Please come on out and wear your Santa hats to welcome the holiday season,” Oliva said. “Please bring your children, your families, and let’s get this holiday season started,” the mayor said.
For more information on the Christmas Tree Lighting & Street Festival, call the City of El Centro Parks & Recreation Department at (760) 337-4555.
For the Saturday events sponsorships or to inquire about becoming a Christmas Festival vendor, email kayla@ivregionalchamber.com.