A meeting was held Tuesday night, December 11, by the Escondido Jaycees to discuss this year’s parade that was canceled due to inclement weather, as well as the options available for rescheduling the parade. They were joined by Escondido Police Chief Jim Maher, Asst. Police Chief Corey Moles, Escondido Recreation Superintendent Robin Bettin as well as other members of the community.

Chief Maher confirmed that the decision to not let the parade go forward was made after looking at forecasts predicting rain for the rest of the day and concerns about public safety. He also said that if the parade was going to be canceled, it was better to have the decision made early in the morning to allow the Jaycees time to notify entries and others helping with the parade. He said that it was the heavy rain that was the concern and that the parade would have proceeded if they felt that only sprinkles or light rain was expected. The break in the weather was not predicted in the forecasts.

The discussion then turned to the possibility of rescheduling the parade of one of the three remaining Saturdays in December. Noticing residents in the areas that would be affected by street closures created one of the biggest concerns, as well as getting necessary permits from Cal Trans to close Highway 78 and the potential difficulty in securing enough volunteers necessary for traffic control on short notice. It was thought that few bands would be able to attend due to previous commitments and the fact that the high schools will be entering their Winter Break and many students may be out of town on vacation. Some participants had already dismantled their floats. The police department and the city agencies were as accommodating as they could be, but it was determined that a parade before the end of the year was not possible. It was also felt that having the parade sometime after the first of the year was not something that was desirable.

It was a positive meeting in that the reasons for canceling the parade were clarified and it was an opportunity for the Jaycees to discuss ways that could make future parade planning go better when there was the possibility of bad weather. It was a good learning experience.

The plan is to look forward to “A Fairy Tale Christmas” on Saturday, December 13, 2008. Information will be available on our website later this year. Thank you for your support!