Palisades Parade Theme Chosen

At the beginning of April, PAPA sent out an e-mail to parade supporters, asking for entries in the annual contest to select a theme for the Fourth of July parade.
Within 10 minutes of receiving the e-mail, Rosalie Huntington submitted her idea, “Waves of Freedom,” the first time she had ever entered the contest.
Huntington grew up in Hollywood and has made her way to Pacific Palisades because of her husband, Dan. He grew up in the Huntington neighborhood but is no relation to the Huntington family. In the 1960s his family rode in the parade as the Huntington Hillbillies.
Rosalie, a reporter, and her husband, who works at a tutoring center, currently live in Sherman Oaks but have bought a house in Castellammare to be close to his mother, Mary.
“We’re down here most of the time anyway,” said Rosalie, who came to her first parade in the Palisades 2005 and remembers, “I loved the small-town feel and we watched up by the DWP building with my father. This was really special because he has since passed away.”
Asked about her inspiration for the theme, Huntington said: “I got inspired by the waves crashing near my house. The theme combines both the waves of the ocean and the waving of the flag. The flag, of course, represents freedom. Actually we can add a third meaning for wave—the waving of hands by people who are riding in the parade.”
She beamed as she talked about her prize. “I am so excited to ride with Dan on the Station 69 fire truck in the parade.”
After PAPA board members selected Huntingon’s entry as the winner, president Rob Weber wrote back, “Your idea won out over nearly 100 submissions that we received this year, more than ever before. The committee was impressed by how three simple words can have so many different meanings that are relevant to the mission of our parade—celebrating patriotism in Pacific Palisades. Great job!”