Jennifer Garner Leads Fourth Festivities as Grand Marshal

By LILY TINOCO | Reporter

Pacific Palisades resident and actress Jennifer Garner was deemed grand marshal of this year’s Fourth of July parade.

Garner is widely known for her starring roles in “13 Going on 30,” “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Alias,” and Netflix’s “Yes Day” and “The Adam Project.” She has won multiple accolades throughout her career, including a Golden Globe for “Alias” and several Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

She has served as a board member of Save the Children USA, an organization devoted to serving children’s needs and securing their rights, since 2014, according to the website.

Garner has taken the organization’s early childhood program to her home state of Virginia, and advocated to lawmakers and philanthropists in Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and beyond.

Garner also co-founded organic food company Once Upon a Farm in 2017, alongside Cassandra Curtis and John Foraker. Her family farm in Locust Grove, Oklahoma, currently serves as a supplier for Once Upon a Farm, growing pumpkins, blueberries and more.

Longtime Palisadian and Palisades Barber Shop Owner Joe Almaraz was also honored this year and selected as parade marshal.

In making this annual decision, Palisades Americanism Parade Association said it looks for individuals or pairs who have been active in the community—fitting for Almaraz, who owns the oldest surviving business in the Palisades.

The shop—located at 15322 Antioch Street—opened in 1940, and Almaraz applied for a job in 1962 when he was just 20 years old. He went out to purchase the business from Bill Parker in 1984, and the rest is history.

To this day, the shop still has its original cabinetry and a sturdy clock on the wall that is used to time appointments, some 80 years later.

The shop has withstood the test of time largely because Almaraz and his family have cultivated an atmosphere that welcomes both first-time and longtime patrons.

Notably, many famous customers have frequented the shop over the last eight decades, including retired LA Dodgers play-by-play announcer Vin Scully, Christian Bale, Tom Brady, John Mayer, Larry David and more.

“As a longtime business owner and resident of Pacific Palisades, it was an absolute joy to be honored as a parade marshal,” Almaraz said to the Palisadian-Post. “With the constant hard work I put into my business and my dedication to the community, it was a surreal moment to be featured in the 74th annual Pacific Palisades Parade and one that I won’t forget.”