The rain returned in earnest Saturday, but the 66th Annual Los Gatos Children’s Christmas & Holidays Parade went ahead as scheduled. And what a spectacle it was.
“It’s fun,” said Eret Cresta, a 16-year-old Los Gatos High junior who was keeping dry under a tent. “I’ve been coming since I was little. But I haven’t been since I was eight or nine.”
Marching bands, dance schools, dignitaries and local businesses passed by, the floats filled out by people with a variety of rain gear on.
“Now that I’m in high school, a lot of my friends are in the parade,” Cresta said. “I’ve got some friends in marching band, and color guard and the robotics team.”
Cresta’s dog Cali seemed equally amused by the parade and even seemed to be having a brief conversation with another dog that passed by.
Carol Musser said her family’s been involved in helping organize the parade for more than three decades.
“You know it takes so much to put this on,” she said. “It would be a disappointment if we didn’t go through with it.”
But they did go through with it. And people did line the streets.
“It takes so much work and preparation,” she said. “So the joy now is seeing everyone come out.”
Does Musser have any secret techniques for remaining dry?
“I don’t,” she said with a laugh. “I mean, I get soaked.”
This year was Supervisor Joe Simitian’s first time ever participating in the parade.
After his float made it to the end point, he began walking back toward the starting point, so he could take the parade in for himself.
“It’s obviously a town that has a real sense of community,” he said, as the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad train blew its whistle. “One of the things that I tell my colleagues at the Board of Supervisors is, every one of the nine different communities I represent has its own quality of culture, its own traditions and its own celebrations. And as someone who is now representing Los Gatos and Monte Sereno, I think this is a great way to get a sense of the place—and a great way to bump into people I haven’t seen in years.”
For example, he ran into Joe Pirzynski, a former mayor and a founding member of the Los Gatos Planning Commission.
“It’s a nice way to connect with people,” he said.
A few yards away, was Javed Ellahie, who was mayor of Monte Sereno at the time, standing alongside Bryan Mekechuk, who was scheduled to become mayor on Dec. 6.
“I think it’s amazing,” Ellahie said of the parade. “This weather is very predictable. It repeats itself every year. So, we’re good with that.”
He said he’s hopeful for the year ahead.
“People are doing what’s best for the community,” he said. “Monte Sereno’s got something amazing…We’re allowing the building of about 220 ADUs, which is going to allow for lower-income people to find a place to live within Monte Sereno, which is normally very expensive.”
And as a Canadian who became a U.S. citizen in 2019, will Mekecuck’s reign mean the spreading of positive Canadian values across Silicon Valley?
Mekechuk laughs, and says he’s focused on keeping things relatively tranquil.
“We’re going to have a very peaceful year coming up,” he said. “We want to get our Housing Element done. We want to maintain the rural nature of Monte Sereno—and all the standard stuff.”
He says Monte Sereno will be focused on working productively with West Valley Clean Water, Silicon Valley Clean Energy, West Valley Solid Waste Management Authority and West Valley Sanitation.
Plus, Mekechuk says he wants to maintain healthy relations with the new Los Gatos Council.
He notes he’s previously worked with Mary Badame, who just got reelected, through one regional organization.
Plus, he literally just met incoming Councilmember Rob Moore just hours earlier at the parade.
“—as we were staging,” he said, adding he’s impressed by the young politician. “He obviously generated a lot of votes because his messages are resonating with the town of Los Gatos. We—Monte Sereno—like to work with the Town of Los Gatos. It’s not an adversarial relationship. And he’s going to be around for a few years, so better establish a good relationship now.”
