Bring your holiday spirit to the festive gathering of antique cars, fire trucks, floats and bikes that will celebrate the 12th annual Long Beach Electric Light Parade. The city will host the event on Dec. 13, beginning at 6 p.m.
“The Electric Light Parade literally lights up our city in a parade of holiday joy,” City Council President Brendan Finn said in a statement. “It’s the perfect way for our community to celebrate the season together in a sea of bright lights, creative floats and quintessential Long Beach spirit.”
The parade will make its way through the West End, along West Beech Street, starting at Ohio Avenue. It will also include groups on foot, identified by their banners.
Many restaurants and local shops will offer specials after the parade, giving participants and viewers an opportunity to enjoy a warm meal, a holiday cocktail or a sweet treat.
Residents design their floats with holiday themes inspired by Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s and the winter solstice. Awards will be presented to the most festive entries, and shops will offer children’s activities after the parade. Santa Claus will appear at the parade’s conclusion.
Floats will be judged along the parade route, as well as in the Sands parking lot. The judges will score floats in 10 categories: Best Overall, Biggest and Brightest, the City Council Award for Best Long Beach Theme, Most Original, the Elf Award for Most Holiday Spirit, the Chairman of the Board Award, the FruitCake Award for Best Humor, the Yule-Cool Award for Most Unique, the Santa’s Sleigh Award for Creativity, and Rudolph’s Best Use of Lights Award.
Kelly Coyle’s West Chester Electric Light Parade Crew is a group of seven families, including the Borello, Callahan, Coyle, Henck, Hoffman, Monaghan and Northrop clans, that have created award-winning entries for past parades. In their seven years of competing, they have earned back-to-back Best Overall awards, including last year’s “It’s West Chester, It’s the Real Thing,” a tribute to Coca-Cola’s polar bear advertising campaign. The West Chester Crew also won Best Overall in 2023 for their rendition of “A Christmas Story.”
Coyle, who lives on West Chester Street, said he loves the opportunity to connect with neighbors during the holiday season because it “brings us all together.”
Each year, the West Chester Crew comes up with a new theme, brainstorming potential ideas, combining them with intricate costume choices in an effort to create, as Coyle says, “something catchy, something to bring older people back to their childhood.” In addition to “A Christmas Story,” the group created a float that paid tribute to the iconic Hess trucks.
Although the creative process can be difficult, Coyle explained, there’s always that reward at the end. “As soon as you hit the West End, you can see the crowd,” he said, “It’s an amazing experience. Everyone’s in a happy mood. Being in the parade, you can take a deep breath. The stress is off.”
The men in the group build the float the week before, working late into the early-December nights. The women, meanwhile, create the costumes for the float’s occupants. Coyle estimated that the annual cost of supplies is $800 to $1,000, but crew members try to reuse materials whenever they can, from old wood to props like lamps.
After the parade, the crew takes part in a nearly decade-long tradition, celebrating with its own Christmas party.
Parking for the event will be available at the Long Beach Catholic Regional School, on West Broadway, as well as at the Long Beach Long Island Rail Road station, with shuttle buses running between them starting at 4:30 p.m.
The parade’s sponsors include the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital, Pam Air Services Group, Rockville Centre GMC and the Long Beach Civil Service Employees Association.
The parade made its debut in 2013, in an effort to support local businesses after Hurricane Sandy. The inaugural procession had eight vehicles and a marching band, and has since grown to attract dozens of participating community members and thousands of spectators. The parade did not take place in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.
“The light parade is one of the most highly anticipated days in Long Beach,” City Councilman George Ennis said in a statement. “The bars and restaurants are packed, the streets are packed with children of all ages. It’s a great time.”
