Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN
BY HENRY KAMER
Monument Street was the place to be for pre-parade family fun.
I’ve lived in Pacific Palisades all 16 years of my life, but this was the first year I learned about and participated in the Annual July 4th Monument Street Water fight, which started in 2006, and is, therefore, older than I am.
As I approached the event, I saw a man with a wagon full of water balloons and asked if he was heading for the water fight. He said the event started early and he was already reloading.
I was not prepared for how many people I saw running around Monument Street and letting loose. It was amazing to see an event where kids of all ages, and grownups could participate in an all-out water war, using water balloons, water guns, and even buckets and trash bags filled with water.
The participants were enthusiastic but had varying levels of success.
When I first arrived, a small kid did a sneak attack, hitting me in the head with a water balloon. I looked back at him, and he smiled at me, proud of his hit.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN
A group of dads used a slingshot to lob water balloons all the way down the street. It took three of them to operate it. They didn’t get a lot of hits, but they seemed to be having a lot of fun.
My favorite though, might have been one boy’s attempt at drenching a girl with a trash bag full of water. He miscalculated and all the water went onto the sidewalk instead of his target.
Even though Monument Street was blocked off, a red Tesla attempted to drive down. The driver realized his error as he was soon pelted with water balloons, one of which may have exploded in his car.
The organizer of the event used a loudspeaker that had a police horn to announce the end of the water fight. He asked everyone to help clean up the balloons and said otherwise his son was going to have to do it. It seemed like no easy job. The street had turned into a rainbow of balloon pieces.
To add to the fun, as the water fight ended, I learned that a foam party for little kids was happening further up the street. There was even a taco cart serving lunch. The tacos were delicious, but my friend and I were bummed we were too old to participate in the foam party.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN
Whatta HOOT!!!!! Thanks!