Pacific Palisades Celebrates Fourth of July

By MICHAEL MATLOF | Intern

Known as “the greatest day of the year” in Pacific Palisades, Fourth of July traditions had to be amended—but the community found ways to gather, from Venice to Santa Monica and Paul Revere Charter Middle School.

The day began with an early start at the Palisades Will Rogers 5K Run in Venice, as well as the Kids’ Fun Run. (Full coverage can be found in the Sports section, beginning on Page 6.)

Instead of the traditional parade through the Village area, this year, there was a Palisades contingent invited to participate in the Santa Monica 4th of July Parade, which began at 9:30 a.m. along Main Street and included Palisadian announcer Sam Laganá.

Participating Palisadians included Pacific Palisades Community Council, with its 2024 award winners: Citizen of the Year Cindi Young, Golden Sparkplugs Carlos Rodriguez and Leslie Campbell, and Pride of the Palisades Thomas Hathaway.

“This year’s parade was particularly meaningful on so many levels,” Campbell, who received a Golden Sparkplug for her work on bringing a forthcoming Palisades dog park to fruition, said to the Palisadian-Post. “I was organizing my Tahitian Terrace community to march in the parade when I got the call to ride with the PPCC. If ever I needed a clone, it was on this 4th of July. It was an honor, however, to ride alongside Carlos Rodriguez as the [most recent] Golden Sparkplug recipients and represent all things good about the Palisades.”

Also participating was Community United Methodist Church of Pacific Palisades, Resilient Palisades, Pali Strong, Palisades Recovery Coalition, Palisades-Malibu YMCA, Oom Pa Pa band, American Legion Ronald Reagan – Palisades Post 283, and Pacific Palisades Pony League champions: Pinto Cardinals, Mustang Orioles and Bronco Orioles.

In the evening time, hundreds of Palisadians, friends, community leaders and beyond gathered starting at 5 p.m. for the annual Palisades Americanism Parade Association celebration, which took place at Paul Revere this year. Attendees were invited to enjoy various food trucks, games, live music on the field and a drone show by Pyro Spectaculars to cap off the night.

Palisadian Laura Traister, who lost her home during the Palisades fire, reflected on what she saw among fellow residents during the event.

“It’s this weird thing where out of tragedy comes camaraderie and community,” Traister said. “It’s this shared experience that has actually brought us together.”

On the main field, Laganá returned to emcee the event alongside Kimi Petrick throughout the evening on a large stage with a LED screen. Music groups performed songs throughout the night, including singer Matty Gottesman, Vinyl Jam, the Palisades Charter High School band and Chantal Trent.

The evening also featured the inauguration of co-Honorary Mayors of the Palisades, Gigi Rice and Ted McGinley, who were sworn in on a copy of “Growing Up in Pacific Palisades,” by Stewart Slavin.

“We have experienced what the Palisades was,” the honorary mayors said in a statement to the Post. “We have made lifetime friends and educated our kids, while they thrived at the park in sports throughout the years. We want that for the new families coming into the Palisades and the ones who have shared this precious neighborhood with us all these many years. We don’t know what it will become, but we want to encourage a positive spirit and strength to overcome the hardship and loss left behind from the fire. We are in this together.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass appeared earlier during the celebration, speaking and taking photos with student volunteers from Pali High and members of the community.

Bass spoke with Post about the importance of having the celebration, despite the devastation of the fires.

“It’s one thing to lose your home, but it’s so much more than a structure, you lose all your memories, but you also lose community,” Bass said. “An event like this, it’s an opportunity for that community to come back.”

Pali High student Justin Reimman, who met with Bass, remarked on the positive vibe at the occasion, despite its changed setting.

“Being here is just amazing,” Reimman said. “It’s got the same energy as years past.”

He and other student volunteers assisted in scanning tickets, delivering the drone show and managing the overall event.

Councilmember Traci Park appeared at the event, both in a CD 11 booth and on stage. Members of her staff handed out free merchandise and engaged with attendees.

Palisades Forever, a nonprofit dedicated to funding and empowering fire recovery, hosted its own stand adjacent to Park. Volunteers sold merchandise, including hats and shirts, that would help fund recovery initiatives. Crayon Collection, founded by Palisadian Sheila Morovati, had a booth with arts and crafts options.

Food trucks included Gracias Señor, Smile Hotdog, Travelin‘ Tom’s Coffee, Poutine Brothers, Dina’s Dumpling, Cousins Maine Lobster, Buddy’z, Sunset Smash and Richeeze Melts. Sweets were also sold at Kona Ice, a shaved ice food truck, and Afters Ice Cream.

“I believe that this event is going to bring us even more hope of rebuilding, because we have so many more experiences to look forward to as a community,” said Cantor Chayim Frenkel of Kehillat Israel while observing the celebration. He said he was thankful for the ability to celebrate, even if it wasn’t the typical festivities.

Additional activities on the field included bouncy houses and a magician. Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters and uniformed members of Los Angeles Police Department could be seen mingling with residents throughout the night.

Beginning shortly after 9 p.m., following a thank you message from PAPA’s Matthew Rodman and Daphne Gronich, who spearheaded planning this year’s event, the evening concluded with a drone show with 250 drones above the stage, displaying words and phrases like “Pacific Palisades,” “Raise Pali,” “Community,” “Hope,” “Resilience” and more.

Sarah Shmerling and Lily Tinoco contributed to this report.