HOLIDAY EVENTS
2026
GROVERBEACH.ORG
Larry Kim
Community Services Supervisor
2025 HOLIDAY EVENT REVIEW
GROVERBEACH.ORG
• 40 Participants
• 800 Attendees
• 25 Community Volunteers
• 20 City and Police Department Staff
• Second Saturday in December
• Declining participation in recent years
• Recent cancellations due to weather in
2022 and 2024
• The first and only parade in it's
inception. Increased competition in
recent years
HOLIDAY PARADE ALTERNATIVE
GROVERBEACH.ORG
Event title: "Tides and Tinsel"
• Location and time: Ramona Garden Park or 16th St. Park | 3 hour event | Time: TBD • Event details: Activities for kids, food and craft vendors, live entertainment, and pictures with Santa Claus.
• Estimated cost: $8,000
The PRBC requested that staff research the possibility of adding a holiday-themed event in 2026.
Staff worked with police and public works departments with regards to additional staff needs, logistics, and costs. Determining that adding an additional event was not feasible, community services staff developed an alternative holiday event concept for consideration:
FEASABILITY OF TWO HOLIDAY EVENTS
GROVERBEACH.ORG
• Two events of this scale are not budgeted.
• Insufficient staff resources to plan and execute two holiday events in December.
• Volunteers: Challenging to recruit enough volunteers for two events during the holiday season.
PARADE | EVENT COMPARISON
GROVERBEACH.ORG
DURATION:
Minimum 2-3 hours. More active participation
for attendees.
DURATION:
30-45 minutes, dependent on participation.
Will vary year to year.
LOGISTICS: Multi-day setup and teardown
• Street closure signage 72 hours in advance
• Street barricades pre-set 24 hours in advance
• Street closures 2 hours before event
• Street re-opening immediately following parade
LOGISTICS: Less resource intensive
A park event does not require major street closures.
Fewer city staff are needed for setup and teardown
compared to a parade.
COSTS: Comparable
Staff time costs are lower, but offset by higher overall event costs.
COSTS: Comparable
Majority of costs are from public works and
police department staff time.
PARADE – Grover Beach Holiday Parade HOLIDAY PARK EVENT – Tides and Tinsel
PRBC RECOMMENDATION
GROVERBEACH.ORG
• Substitution of parade to an alternative park event
• Keep event on the second Saturday in December
• Review the results of holiday park event and reconsider returning to a holiday parade in the future
PRBC's unanimous recommendation
RECOMMENDATION
GROVERBEACH.ORG
1. Receive a report on the recommendations from the
Parks, Recreation and Beautification Commission
(PRBC) regarding the City's holiday events for
2026 and provide direction to staff.
2. Provide alternative direction to staff.