Long Beach Holds Cruisin’ the Coast Parade

Long Beach kicked off its Cruisin’ festivities with their annual parade, and it was the place to be to see over 600 classic cars in action.

The parade rolled down Jeff Davis Avenue in Long Beach, which is usually pretty busy on a normal day, but Monday, it was absolutely packed with classic cars and parade goers as the city kicks off Cruisin’ the Coast with style. The parade started with Cruisin’ the Coast in 1996 and has been a crowd favorite for almost two decades.

This year’s parade featured the first 600 pre-registered cars to arrive and the Grand Marshall was Courtney Hansen, television host and author of Garage Girls Guide to Everything You Need to Know About Your Car. These parades are similar to Mardi Gras celebrations, but instead of jazz music, some classic 50s rock was booming, and instead of purple, green, and gold, poodle skirts and leather were all about.

If you thought Cruisin’ wasn’t very important to the Gulf Coast, you should know that Long Beach schools let classes out after a half day so families could enjoy the parade together.

Click on the video at left to watch our live interview with Carol Hill, a Navy Seabee and car enthusiast, to find out why she loves Cruisin’ the Coast!