Watsonville parade draws thousands

There was plenty of red, white and blue in the group from Narconon Vista Bay in the Spirit of Watsonville Fourth of July parade Wednesday. (Photos by Tarmo Hannula).

WATSONVILLE — Jasper Garcia started participating in the Spirit of Watsonville Fourth of July parade when he was a small boy, riding in his grandfather’s 1956 Ford Victoria along Main Street.

Now 19, Garcia has his own customized car, a silver, 1981 Chevrolet El Camino. He also has his own place in the parade, along with his father and aunt who were behind the wheels of their own cars.

“It’s a family thing,” he said. “We have a lot of cars — if we had enough drivers we’d have 10 in the parade.”

The Garcia family joined hundreds of other entries in the annual parade — ranging from city officials perched on vintage fire trucks to Boy Scout troops to a fleet of riders on gleaming, custom bicycles.

For the complete article see the 07-05-2012 issue.

Click here to purchase an electronic version of the 07-05-2012 paper.

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