After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Belmont Shore Christmas Parade made its return last year, drawing tens of thousands of spectators to the Second Street corridor.
This year, the event that’s regarded as the second biggest in the region after the Hollywood Christmas Parade will return on Saturday, Dec. 2 and its expected to be even bigger than last year.
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Featuring over 100 floats, marching bands, drill teams, city officials and local personalities, the spectacle is free and open to all ages. It will begin at 6 p.m. at Livingston and Second Street, marching east before turning around at Bay Shore Avenue and heading back around at 9 p.m.
Presented by the Belmont Shore Business Association, this year’s theme is “Christmas by the Sea,” emphasizing the “coastal culture and community spirit of Belmont Shore,” with Grand Marshal Captain Charles Moore, the founder of Algalita Marine Research and Education and Long Beach Organic.
“A lifelong lover of the ocean, Captain Charlie Moore has dedicated his career to bringing awareness to the crisis of oceanic plastic pollution,” according to the BSBA.
New this year is a live stream pre-show featuring a look at the entries and interviews from the lineup. The parade will also be live-streamed at belmontshore.org for those who can’t make it out.
Also, residents in the area should know that side streets will be blocked off where they intersect with Second Street at 2 p.m. Second Street will be closed to traffic at 4 p.m. No property of any kind, including chairs, blankets, and coolers, will be allowed on the sidewalk or center median until 5 p.m.
Parking will be offered for free within the Ocean Avenue beach lot or after 3 p.m. in the Marine Stadium parking lots.