This year’s event kicks off at 6 p.m., featured Retired Col. Paris D. Davis as grand marshal as well as a host of other celebrities, musical acts and a dozen marching bands.
Retired Col. Paris D. Davis, who was awarded the Medal of Honor in March — nearly 60 years after being nominated for his heroism during the Vietnam War. Davis, one of the first Black officers to serve in the Army’s elite Green Berets, was recognized “for his daring rescue of two severely injured soldiers during an intense battle in the Vietnam War” on June 18, 1965.
The parade was co-hosted by actors Erik Estrada and Dean Cain along with media personalities Montel Williams, Laura McKenzie and Elizabeth Stanton.
Pre-parade entertainment will include the Village People, pop-opera singer Anna Azerli and The Grinch.
The 3.2-mile parade route runs from Hollywood Boulevard at Orange Drive before heading east on Hollywood Boulevard to Vine Street, then down Vine to Sunset Boulevard before returning west on Sunset and back to Orange Drive.
The parade has been held nearly every year since its inception in 1928. The parade was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and before that it was not held from 1942 to 1944 due to World War II.