Chatsworth Celebrates Holidays With Festival, Parade

Chatsworth residents, schools, businesses and civic groups got together Sunday at the 28th annual Chatsworth Kiwanis Club Holiday Parade and Festival.  The event, dubbed "The Polar Express," brought out longtime Chatsworth residents, and vendors from as far away as Santa Barbara.

For some participants, the parade was an opportunity to raise funds for their schools.

Chatsworth Kiwanis had $3,000 to be divided among the three best high-school marching bands in the parade.

• For the parade video, click here.

Alex Luminato and Jason Pires brought their children to the parade. Luminato said he came to support his son, who was marching in the parade with his Boy Scout troop.  Pires, a long-time Chatsworth resident, said he marched in the parade 20 years ago as a member of the Chatsworth High School marching band.

The parade stepped off at 1 p.m. under cool temperatures and clear skies, and headed east on Devonshire Street. Area schools and businesses showed off their creative talents and passions, whether it was festively decorated floats or classic cars. 

Area martial-arts groups kicked and punched their way down the road in formation, showing off self-defense moves.

A classic car group rolled down the street in vintage Detroit wheels.

The South Indian Cultural Charitable Organization “paddled” down the road in a colorful, whimsical float that resembled a boat.

Members of Stoney Point Ranch and Ride With Pride represented Chatsworth equestrian-based businesses.

The groups that made the most noise were the marching bands.

The Chatsworth High School marching band kept with the spirit of the season, and performed Christmas classics including “Joy to the World” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”

Nobel Middle School’s marching band’s choice of music went in a different direction. They performed “Thriller,” the Michael Jackson classic. Cleveland High School's sound kept spirits high, too.

Longtime Chatsworth residents and business owners Malila Davalos and Geovanny Rodriguez came out with their family. The couple runs Silver King, a silversmith establishment on Devonshire Street that has served the area’s equestrian community for more than 30 years. Davalos is also president of the Chatsworth Business Improvement District (BID), a sponsor of the festival.

“The festival is good for the family,” Davalos said.

The festivities continued at the Chatsworth Train Depot, where vendors displayed their wares and a band played pop hits including Pat Benatar's “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.”

Param Yoga, a relatively new business, had a booth at the festival. Its owner, Marydele, who prefers to go by her first name only, said she opened her doors about a year ago. She said this was the second time that her business participated in the parade, and the first time at the festival. 

Kirsten Kaufmann, who works at the front desk at Param Yoga, said they were at the festival to promote the business and sell some of their wares.

Not all vendors were local.

Christa Finn came from Glendale to display and sell Sound Cube, a small, cube-shaped speaker that plugs into iPods, laptop computers and other electronic devices through a headphone jack.

And Deborah Kamisher, Rachelle Pegg, and Shoham Yaniv may have traveled the farthest to display their wares. They came all the way from Santa Barbara.  Kamisher is the owner of Bear Clover, a company that sells jewelry from India, Thailand and Indonesia.  She said she is in the process of passing the business on to her daughter, Rachelle Pegg. Both have been selling their wares at fairs for years. Yaniv said most of their business is done at fairs and boutiques.

Prizes were awarded at 3:30 p.m. Chatsworth High School took the sweepstakes and a check for $1,500, to benefit their marching band program. First place went to Nobel Middle School. Lucia Montaño, Lt. Governor of Kiwanis Division 25, said only high schools are eligible for prizes under the Kiwanis event bylaws. However, because Nobel Middle School’s performance was outstanding in some categories, they would likely be awarded a prize, she added. Cleveland High School rounded out second place, with a $1,000 prize.