The 58th Palm Desert Golf Cart Parade is back in the valley
The 58th Palm Desert Golf Cart Parade brought out locals from all over the valley after not having the parade since 2019. The Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce (PDACC) welcomed the parade back into the community after having a few years of covid cancellations. A spokesperson said, the City of Palm Desert, some sponsors, and PDACC's presenting sponsor, the Allen Foundation made the Masquerade-themed Parade happen. NFL legend and recent Pro Football Hall of fame inductee, Tom Flores, was the 2022 golf cart parade, Grand Marshal.
About a hundred organizations and businesses participated. The parade ran from Portola on El Paseo down to Ocotillo. First responders participated and more awards were given out.
The combined bands of Coachella valley high, Desert Hot Springs, and Rancho Mirage high came together to march in the parade. "Our kids are the same, you know, same style. A lot of them have the same income. They just enjoy playing so why not." said Daniel Granillo, the band supervisor of Coachella Valley high school. Rancho Mirage High and Desert Hot Springs combined marching bands combined won the School Spirit award. "The reason they got it was because these two schools came together and did the best work they could do as a team," said Mayor Jan Harnik. "They didn't come in separate. They came in together. So thank you so much for showing us all how it's done."
Many families from all over the family came to join in on the fun. "Just fun way for all the families to interact and see some of the golf carts all decorated," said Stacia Zarzycai, a La Quinta resident.
"This is our first year ever participating in the Palm Desert golf cart parade, we really want to start spreading the word about all of the great art, culture, and history that our city has," said a spokesperson from the city of Coachella. The city of Coachella won the Director's Award.
The Community Service award was given to the Sacred Heart School, National Junior Honor Society. The Living Desert won the most humorous award, and the Patriots store won the Judges Award.
A spokesperson said the parade has an impact on Coachella valley businesses. "There's so many people that they usually we get between eight and 10,000 people out here," said Alisa Williams from the Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce. "So that's just a lot of eyes walking by seeing your business."
A Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce spokesperson said around sixty golf carts participated and combined with vendors and booths up to one hundred businesses and organizations participated.
This event offered much more than a parade of golf carts. There was a car show, a beer garden, a flyover from the Palm Springs Air Museum, and a kid's zone. "Its really really fun to be here," said Cullen Zarzycki, a La Quinta resident.
Webb Farrer, a Palm Desert resident had a very elaborate pirate theme float, that he and three people put together by hand. They came to have fun and won the Mayor's Award. "We've got the mayor's award, it feels great," said Farrer. "I mean, we just came to have fun today and this is just the icing on the top."
YOU ARE INVITED TO THE GOLF CART PARADE AFTER PARTY.
Date: October 30th
Time: 2:30 pm until (no end time)
Location: Let's Flamingo at the Shadow Mountain Golf Club
73-800 Ironwood Street. Palm Desert, CA.
Food is provided and Entertainment. There is no host bar.
