Comedy magic duo Penn & Teller will preside as grand marshals today when the 84th annual Hollywood Christmas Parade makes its way through city streets.
The pair, known for their Las Vegas act and CW Network show “Penn & Teller: Fool Us,” will ride down the Hollywood Boulevard parade route starting at 5 p.m.
The annual event will include performances by Clay Aiken, India.Arie, Taylor Hicks, Daughtry, Kat Graham, Candice Glover, Sean Kingston, Heather Russell, Ruben Studdard and Ace Young. The event will also feature a performance by Band of Merrymakers, featuring Mark McGrath, Natasha Bedingfield, Tyler Glenn of Neon Trees, Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra and Sam Hollander.
The parade will also feature a “Magic of Christmas” segment with magicians from the TV series “Masters of Illusion.” The segment dove-tails with this year’s grand marshals — magicians Penn and Teller.
Also included in the event will be a salute to American soap operas, with appearances by Rick Hearst, Emme Rylan and Bradford Anderson of “General Hospital”; Tristan Rogers, Kate Linder, Bryton James and Christel Khalil of “The Young & The Restless”; Scott Clifton and Jacqueline Macinnes Wood of “The Bold & The Beautiful”; and Martha Madison, Deidre Hall and Galen Gering of “Days of Our Lives.”
Co-hosting duties for the parade will be shared by actors and television personalities Erik Estrada, Laura McKenzie, Dean Cain and Montel Williams.
The parade will step off from Hollywood Boulevard and Orange Street. It will then travel east on Hollywood, south on Vine Street, west on Sunset Boulevard and back to Orange.
The annual Christmas event will be nationally televised on CW Network channels as a two-hour special airing Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. Pacific and Eastern times. Subsequent airings will begin Dec. 19 on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel.
The Hollywood Christmas Parade was first held in 1928, when it was called the “Santa Claus Lane Parade.” Comedian Joe E. Brown was the first grand marshal in 1932, a role later filled by Bob Hope, Gene Autry and Jimmy Stewart, among others.
Motorists can expect street closures and parking restrictions in Tinseltown.
City transportation officials said the no-parking restrictions will be tightly enforced, with illegally parked vehicles being impounded.
Towed vehicles will likely be taken to the official police garage, Hollywood Tow, at 1015 N. Mansfield Ave. Motorists can check online at www.opglaviic.com to find their vehicle.
The parade will make its way down Hollywood Boulevard starting at 5 p.m. The annual Christmas event will be nationally televised on CW Network channels as a two-hour special airing on Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. Pacific and Eastern times. Subsequent airings will begin Dec. 19 on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel.
The following streets will be posted as no-parking/stopping tow-away zones:Until 6 a.m. Monday:
— Hollywood Boulevard between Highland Avenue and Orange Drive;
— Orange between Hollywood Boulevard and Hawthorn Avenue; and
— Sycamore Avenue between Franklin and Hawthorn avenues. From 6 a.m. to midnight:
— Hollywood Boulevard between La Brea Avenue and Orange Drive. From 11 a.m. to midnight:
— Hawthorn between Highland and La Brea avenues;
— Sunset Boulevard between Highland and La Brea avenues;
— De Longpre Avenue between Highland and La Brea avenues;
— Fountain Avenue between Highland and La Brea avenues;
— Lanewood Avenue between La Brea Avenue and Orange Drive;
— El Cerrito Place between Franklin and Hollywood Boulevard;
— Sycamore Avenue between Sunset Boulevard and Fountain Avenue;
— Orange between Franklin and Hollywood Boulevard;
— Orange between Hawthorn and Santa Monica Boulevard; and
— Mansfield Avenue between De Longpre and Fountain. From 1 p.m. to midnight:
— Hollywood Boulevard between Highland and Vine Street;
— Vine between Hollywood and Sunset boulevards;
— Sunset between Vine and Highland;
— Franklin between La Brea and Highland;
— Santa Monica Boulevard between La Brea Avenue and Gower Street;
— Highland Avenue between Franklin and Sunset;
— La Brea between Franklin and Fountain;
— Cahuenga Boulevard between Yucca Street and Hollywood Boulevard (West Side Only); and
— Yucca Street between Gower and Argyle streets (North Side Only).
The north and southbound Cahuenga Boulvard offramps from the Hollywood (101) Freeway will be closed from 3 to 10 p.m.
