The 56th annual La Jolla Christmas Parade and Holiday Festival on Sunday, Dec. 8 promises to be spectacular with more than 100 entries, including beauty queens, equestrians, vintage vehicles, judged floats and the most bands ever, as well as several thousand youngsters marching in groups, with everything from Girl and Boy Scouts to school marching bands and color guards. “We’ve got 60-plus equestrians, fire engines, a bus from Birch Aquarium and Omar the camel is back,” said Ann Kerr Bache, parade organizer for the 16th year. The Holiday Festival immediately following the 2 p.m. parade is another don’t-miss event activity and a good way to get acquainted with the community and all it has to offer. “The festival will have great entertainment — arts and crafts, music, watercolor painting, surf lessons and a kids’ zone with face painting, jumpees and Santa Claus riding in on the black sleigh courtesy of Sunrise Rotary Club, who will be taking pictures with kids,” Kerr Bache said. “We’ll have an education area where people can learn about the organizations in the community.” The Holiday Festival will be held at the La Jolla Recreation Center, 615 Prospect St. Fundraising co-chairs for the 2013 event are local business leaders Peter Farrell, Bill Kellogg and Jack McGrory, assisted by Debbie Dorsee of the Dorsee Company. Kerr Bache credited her fundraising crew of Farrell, Kellogg and McGrory with “doing a dynamite job of raising money and keeping the tradition alive, for which we as a community should be incredibly grateful.” The parade sponsor once again this year is Audrey S. Geisel and major sponsors include La Jolla Management Company, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and Steven E. Kowalski, The Albergram, La Jolla Country Market, Sycamore Court, Village Corner, The Wall Street Building and county Supervisor Ron Roberts. Appropriately enough, the theme for this year’s winter classic event is “Christmas in the Surf and Sand.” The holiday event is unique in that it is organized and run by a small committee of community volunteers and is fully funded through community sponsorships and donations with more than 70 percent of the donations coming from individuals. The festive day ends with the lighting of the Christmas Tree at 4:30 p.m. “We sing ‘Silent Night’ gathered around the tree, which is decorated courtesy of GDC Construction,” said Kerr Bache. For more information visit ljparade.com. A star-studded lineup of parade grand marshals includes: Grand Marshal: WindanSea Surf Club celebrating its 50th anniversary Traditional Marshal: Claudia and Willis Allen, Jr., co-owners of Crystal Pier Hotel and Cottages Innovation Marshal: Tyler Orion, interim president of CONNECT, a non profit accelerator of emerging technology and life science companies in San Diego Philanthropic Marshal: Sherry Ahern, creator/promoter of La Jolla Open Aire Market and the La Jolla Art & Wine Festival, recognized for her community service work Military Marshal: Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial Association honoring the organization for its community work with and for veterans Youth Marshals: Rachelle Roberson, 1st grade, All Hallows Academy, Rose Conlin, 7th grade, Stella Maris Academy and Mahine Guilpain and Andrew Petruzell, 8th grade, San Diego French American School HOLIDAY FESTIVAL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Entertainment Stage — Ron Jones, emcee 2:30 p.m.: La Jolla High School Jazz Band, Mike Fiedler, director 3:15 p.m.: The Kukui Nuts Hawaiian Music 3:50 p.m.: Ukelele Bruddahs Arts & Education Area ~ ART Interactive with Alice Wang (watercolor and pencil) Birch Aquarium at Scripps Coco Tihanyi & her Surf Divas (surfing and water-safety instructions) Gym Ventures and Kid Ventures (interactive crafts and skills) The Magic of Jazz with Mary Talbot, Southern California Jazz Society Education Arcade ~ Canine Companions Mt Soledad Memorial Association San Diego Police Museum San Diego Zoo USS Midway Museum 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. ~ Kids’ Zone, air jump, air obstacle course, face painting 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. ~ Photos with Santa post parade 4:30 p.m. ~ “Silent Night” & lighting of the La Jolla Christmas Tree (arranged by Sunrise Rotary) All Holiday Festival events take place at the La Jolla Recreation Center, 615 Prospect St.

Many La Jollans believe opening — or even removing — the fence at the Cove and allowing public access to the bluffs displacing wildlife there is the solution to quenching the stench which has become a serious health problem and community irritant. Now they’re just waiting to hear if the city is going to give them the chance to test their theory. A decision is imminent by the city attorney as a result of a request by assistant chief operating officer Stacey LoMedico to open a gate, or remove a section, of the Cove fence to allow public access there while city liability for doing so is explored. The idea behind fence removal is the conviction by some that the cause of the pervasive smell emanating from the bluffs stems from the invasion of birds and marine mammals — and their inevitable feces — that has intensified since a fence was installed to keep people off the rocks. Remove the fence and allow people back out onto the cliffs and many of the animals will gradually be displaced and move away — as will the smell, the theory goes. Will that happen? It’s now up to the City Attorney’s Office to decide. In a recent letter to the La Jolla Village Merchants Association (LJVMA), which has been lobbying government officials to get the Cove stench taken care of once and for all, LoMedico wrote, “There are no restrictions to public access if a member of the public chooses to access the rocks/ cliffs. However, access is discouraged as the area can be unstable due to the erosion of the cliffs, rocks and as such there are signs posted on the fence that clearly indicates these conditions. If a member of the public chooses to take such an individual risk, it is also important to note that an individual should do so without disturbing the wildlife, birds and sea lions.” LoMedico added that, should the Cove fence be reopened, city lifeguards have the right to warn those choosing to be on the rocks if they’re in personal danger, and also have the ability to cite them if they feel they’ve harassed or mistreated federally protected marine mammals. Addressing La Jolla Town Council recently, Sheila Fortune, LJVMA executive director, discussed LoMedico’s letter and the possibility of unlocking the gate or removing all or part of the Cove fencing. More importantly, Fortune noted the Cove stench is literally making people sick. “It’s become a major health problem with a lot of businesses along Coast Boulevard complaining about people getting sick, my staff and myself included in our office,” Fortune told trustees. Noting the Cove’s rocks were treated twice to counteract bird droppings, Fortune said there’s a growing awareness that waste from sea lions may be an even bigger part of the stench problem. “Sea lions like to dine on sardines and sardines create an incredibly noxious odor,” she said. “We’re working to figure out a solution for everyone.” Alex Roth, spokesman for interim mayor Todd Gloria, told LJVMA last week, “We absolutely understand this is a big problem and we’re as concerned as folks in La Jolla are about finding some sort of solution.” Roth added that, at this point, “There are no options that really are off the table. Everything is being considered. Everything is being looked at.” But whether opening the Cove cliffs up to public access proves to be the ultimate solution, Roth said if people are allowed access they’ll have to continue to respect the rules and keep a safe distance from wildlife so there’s no harassment. Roth said the city is venturing into uncharted territory when it comes to eradicating animal-waste smells. Finding a solution, he said, is going to take some time. “This isn’t a situation where you can snap your fingers and find a solution to the sea lion poop,” he said, adding the sea lion population statewide has just “exploded, growing perhaps tenfold” from what it was a few years ago. “Whether or not we can install some sort of gate in the fence or open it up, we hope to have that answer fairly shortly,” Roth said.