Pacific Grove Monarch
Conservancy :: Butterfly Parade
Since
1939,
Pacific Grove has celebrated the return of the Monarch butterflies with
a welcoming parade. The parade is
held on a Saturday morning in early October -- call the
Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce
at (831) 373-3304 for the date -- and is
comprised of
all the elementary schoolchildren dressed in costumes and accompanied
by the school bands. 
The
parade is
lead by Kindergartners, dressed as Monarch butterflies, in
costumes made in class. Grades 1-6 follow dressed as friends of the
Monarchs such
as caterpillars, flowers, trees, and many other imaginative
critters. The small-town charm of the parade is made even more touching by the fact that it has taken place for over 60 years, so many of the grandparents watching along the parade route were once little Monarchs marching in the parade themselves.
A future monarch
(Photo courtesy Sharon Blaziek)
The parade begins at Robert Down School,
goes down Fountain Avenue, turns at the main street,
Lighthouse Avenue, loops around, and finishes at Robert Down School
with a Butterfly
Bazaar on the school grounds.
PGPD motorcycle officer
(Photo courtesy Sharon Blaziek)
Vintage Parade:
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