GRAND MARSHALS CHOSEN TO LEAD PASADENA’S BLACK HISTORY PARADE

Pasadena’s 30th Annual Black History Parade and Festival, Saturday, Feb. 18, will reach back to its roots to feature as its grand marshal both noted community members and local Southern California celebrities.

This year’s community grand marshals will include three of the founders of the parade:  past Jackie Robinson Community Center director Gene Stevenson, Carolyn Jones and Hamp Morris.  Joining them will be Brandilyn Amie, the Pasadena Community Access Corporation parade announcer, and on-site parade announcer Roland Bynum.

A team of familiar news anchors from KTLA channel 5 and film actor Willard Pugh have been chosen as the 2012 parade’s celebrity grand marshals.  Former KTLA anchor Walter Richards and current anchors Michaela Pereira and Gayle Anderson will join Pugh, familiar to many for his roles in the movies The Color Purple and Air Force One, among many others.

With the theme “Looking Back and Remembering: We’ve Come A Mighty Long Way,” the parade will celebrate the achievements and contributions of African Americans to American society.  And in this 30th anniversary year, the parade and festival will celebrate itself and its place among Pasadena’s community traditions.

The parade begins at 10 a.m. at Charles White Park in Altadena, at Ventura Street and Fair Oaks Ave., and travels south on Fair Oaks to Robinson Park, 1081 N. Fair Oaks Ave., where a festival follows until 4 p.m.  The festival features a youth area, entertainment, vendor booths, food and more.

Several other events honoring Black History Month are scheduled, including the Black Film Festival, Feb. 12, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Community Center featuring a screening of “The Lena Baker Story”; Senior Night Out, Feb. 24, at the Courtyard Marriott, 180 N. Fair Oaks, from 6 to 9 p.m.; and the Pasadena City College (PCC) Jackie Robinson Speaker Series, Feb. 26, from 2 to 4 p.m., at Jackie Robinson Community Center, featuring Dr. Christopher Jimenez y West, professor of social science.  The Jackie Robinson Community Center is located at 1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave.

For 30 years, the city of Pasadena has taken the lead role in organizing Black History Month activities. The city’s Human Services and Recreation Department and Jackie Robinson Community Center are major sponsors along with Wells Fargo, MillerCoors and Pasadena Community Access Corporation.

For more information call (626) 744-7333.