Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Name shame

La Jollan continues challenge of changing title of “Christmas” parade

For the past ten years, La Jolla resident Howard Singer has been trying to bring a change to the town’s annual “Christmas Parade.” He doesn’t like the name.

Singer spoke out again on August 14, at a meeting of the La Jolla Town Council. But he was there to speak to one person, Ann Kerr Bache, the longtime parade chairperson and a director on the council.

Singer is a board member of the San Diego County Diversity and Inclusiveness Group, and he says they want the name of the parade changed to be “faith neutral.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

He pointed out that every holiday celebration in San Diego County — from Balboa Park’s formerly named “Christmas on the Prado,” to Chula Vista, Encinitas, Ocean Beach, and Pacific Beach’s Christmas parades — has had its name changed to be faith neutral. He claims that sponsorships and attendance go up when they do change.

“If you were a Buddhist, a Jew, or a Muslim, you would not feel welcomed,” he said.

He said at the town-council meeting that Kerr Bache and her parade committee “continues to embrace La Jolla's dark and murky past” by being unwilling to discuss the matter.

The “past” Singer alluded to is from about 1887 until around 1959, when UCSD was established: African Americans, foreign nationals, and Jews were prevented from owning property (as was the case in several of SoCal’s affluent communities in the early to mid 20th Century.)

Singer has the backing for a name change from the La Jolla Light newspaper, La Jolla Village Merchants Association, and the San Diego Human Relations Commission, among others.

However, Kerr Bache and her parade organization may be on the right path. On August 17, I spoke with ten La Jollans at the Coffee Cup restaurant on Wall Street and at the Girard Avenue farmers’ market. Each of the ten had strong opinions that were the opposite of Singer’s.

Scott was dining with his family and supported keeping the “Christmas” in the parade’s name. He said, “Who cares? I’m Jewish and I could care less. Stay away [from the parade] if you want.”

“There are so many other things to fight about. Why this?” Betsy questioned. Scott added, “Some people just get too bothered over it. Maybe they need a hobby.”

Dee, at the farmers’ market, said, “It’s okay to celebrate Christmas. If people are offended, they shouldn’t come.”

Another woman chased me down at the farmers' market when she found out what I was asking everyone about. She grabbed my arm and with a thick Eastern European accent, declared, “It is absolutely Christmas. Nothing else. Only Christmas!”

As Singer and others in the community advised me, Kerr Bache does not respond to any queries about the parade-name issue. I tried to reach her for several days. “She refuses to meet with anyone on the issue, then pretends to represent the community,” said Singer.

Plans are already underway for the 57th annual “La Jolla Christmas Parade and Holiday Festival,” scheduled for Sunday, December 7.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Five new golden locals

San Diego rocks the rockies

For the past ten years, La Jolla resident Howard Singer has been trying to bring a change to the town’s annual “Christmas Parade.” He doesn’t like the name.

Singer spoke out again on August 14, at a meeting of the La Jolla Town Council. But he was there to speak to one person, Ann Kerr Bache, the longtime parade chairperson and a director on the council.

Singer is a board member of the San Diego County Diversity and Inclusiveness Group, and he says they want the name of the parade changed to be “faith neutral.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

He pointed out that every holiday celebration in San Diego County — from Balboa Park’s formerly named “Christmas on the Prado,” to Chula Vista, Encinitas, Ocean Beach, and Pacific Beach’s Christmas parades — has had its name changed to be faith neutral. He claims that sponsorships and attendance go up when they do change.

“If you were a Buddhist, a Jew, or a Muslim, you would not feel welcomed,” he said.

He said at the town-council meeting that Kerr Bache and her parade committee “continues to embrace La Jolla's dark and murky past” by being unwilling to discuss the matter.

The “past” Singer alluded to is from about 1887 until around 1959, when UCSD was established: African Americans, foreign nationals, and Jews were prevented from owning property (as was the case in several of SoCal’s affluent communities in the early to mid 20th Century.)

Singer has the backing for a name change from the La Jolla Light newspaper, La Jolla Village Merchants Association, and the San Diego Human Relations Commission, among others.

However, Kerr Bache and her parade organization may be on the right path. On August 17, I spoke with ten La Jollans at the Coffee Cup restaurant on Wall Street and at the Girard Avenue farmers’ market. Each of the ten had strong opinions that were the opposite of Singer’s.

Scott was dining with his family and supported keeping the “Christmas” in the parade’s name. He said, “Who cares? I’m Jewish and I could care less. Stay away [from the parade] if you want.”

“There are so many other things to fight about. Why this?” Betsy questioned. Scott added, “Some people just get too bothered over it. Maybe they need a hobby.”

Dee, at the farmers’ market, said, “It’s okay to celebrate Christmas. If people are offended, they shouldn’t come.”

Another woman chased me down at the farmers' market when she found out what I was asking everyone about. She grabbed my arm and with a thick Eastern European accent, declared, “It is absolutely Christmas. Nothing else. Only Christmas!”

As Singer and others in the community advised me, Kerr Bache does not respond to any queries about the parade-name issue. I tried to reach her for several days. “She refuses to meet with anyone on the issue, then pretends to represent the community,” said Singer.

Plans are already underway for the 57th annual “La Jolla Christmas Parade and Holiday Festival,” scheduled for Sunday, December 7.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Dim Sum Tour, Warwick’s Holiday Open House

Events November 24-November 27, 2024
Next Article

Ramona musicians seek solution for outdoor playing at wineries

Ambient artists aren’t trying to put AC/DC in anyone’s backyard
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader