by: -RoG-

I'm not the biggest fan of parades. There, I said it. I get that a ton of work and planning goes into pulling a successful one off, and I can certainly appreciate all of that effort, but watching them has never particularly interested me. Sure, they were great when I was a little kid... what kid wouldn't revel in the opportunity to see their favorite cartoon and TV characters at Godzilla-like proportions as they float through the city? As an adult, however, I like seeing some of the floats 'n all, but would rather not wait a full 2+ hours to see them go by. Gimme a recorded copy of any parade and I'll gladly watch it go by quickly on fast-forward in under 10 minutes, but sitting through the whole thing as it happens? That's tough.

Well, It's been a long time since I've seen a parade, and even longer since I've seen one in person. I don't exactly keep up with them, so I was surprised to learn the other day that there was an annual Hollywood Christmas Parade (in November?) that takes place at night. A Thanksgiving parade in November and in the daytime when everybody can see the floats easily, sure... that makes sense, but a nighttime Christmas one in November? Alright, I was intrigued. I decided to give the parade a chance, and after finding a parking spot roughly 100 billion blocks away, I made my way up to the parade and found a decent spot so I could photograph everything that marched, drove, and floated on by JUST FOR YOU. Does that make you feel guilty? Good, cuz that's what Christmas is all about. Enjoy this photo gallery from the 2012 Hollywood Christmas Parade!

Waiting with the huge crowds that lined the streets of Hollywood for the parade to begin.
The parade actually started an hour later than the official web site stated it would, so yeah, that was fun.

A bunch o' snazzy police cars and fire trucks were on hand to participate in the parade.

And to start things off, some guys on choppers covered with Christmas lights and tinsel rode down the street.

Joe Mantegna was the Grand Marshall of the 2012 Hollywood Christmas Parade.
He'll always be Harry Flugleman to me.

One of the best things about a parade is when there's a hold up and the cars stop moving,
so the people sitting in them just start feeling awkward cuz they don't want to keep waving at
the same people. This happened with Joe at one point right in front of me and he
started looking back as if to say, "What the hell is the hold up, guys!?"
Yep, it wouldn't be the holiday season without a good dosage of awkwardness.

Here be some proud Marines 'a marching.

The first float that came by was a giant Elmo, wearing a Santa Claus hat and a scarf.

Seeing Elmo as the first thing to float by had me thinking I had made a huge mistake coming to this parade.
I was actually thinking to myself, "It would be so great if Batman flew in on his Batwing and stole
this balloon just like he did from the Joker in the 1989 Tim Burton movie." But that never happened.
The goddamn Batman failed me.

And then the cast of "The Young and the Restless" drove by and all my worries about having a bad time vanished.
Okay, not really, but I was pretty sure this parade was only gonna get weirder as the night went on.

More marching band stuff.

And ladies in Santa hats waving flags around in perfect unison.

Uggie the Jack Russell Terrier from "The Artist" drove by.
Yep, I'm sure he was honored to be in the parade... being a dog 'n all.

Bugs Bunny was there too...

...followed by Daffy Duck and Tweety Bird. Not the most typical pairing, but I guess those were the costumes that were available at the time. Either way, the kids loved it. Personally, I think Daffy deserves an honorary car of his own. Screw Bugs.

There were a lot of people driving by that night who I simply did not know because they were from Nickelodeon or Disney channel shows - two channels that I just don't watch these days. These guys were from "Big Time Rush". Yay?

Alright, now we're talking! A big snowman floating down the street! I like the added detail of giving him ear muffs.

And just look at the size of his hat! He's like the British Bobby of snowmen!

Some float about art leading the way to happiness or something that nobody seemed to understand.

More flags.

Matthew Gray Gubler from "Criminal Minds" rides by in a coonskin cap.

AJ Cook from "Criminal Minds" too.

And Thomas Gibson... for fucks sake, can't you just put all the people from that show in ONE car?

Alright, now that's the best ride I've seen all night!

Or was it?

Holy crap! I expect very particular floats from a Christmas parade, but a giant NASA astronaut? Didn't see that one coming.

Nor did I expect the Moon to be chasing after him!

Ride 'em, cowgirls!

The Santa Pups from "Santa Paws 2" drove by. Yeah, that just happened.

I was hoping for the Three Amigos, but these guys were pretty great too.

I yelled "Iron Eagle!" at Louis Gossett Jr. and he winked at me.
That right there made the entire night worthwhile.

Wait, what!? The 1960s Batmobile from the Adam West "Batman" show and the 1989 Batmobile riding together??
Awesome. The 1989 one even unleashed a bunch of firecrackers underneath it. Where does he get those wonderful toys?

There's still plenty more from the
2012 Hollywood Christmas Parade to see!
Click here to continue onward to page 2!