This year’s evening 4th of July show was held at Paul Revere Middle School.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN
By LAUREL BUSBY
Special to Circling the News
The venue may have changed, but the Fourth of July spirit remained strong as Palisadians celebrated Friday night at Paul Revere Charter Middle School.
A stage and large video screen were erected in the playing fields, which emcee Sam Lagana said was once the site of the equestrian competition in the 1932 Olympics. Along with fellow emcee Kimi Petrick, he introduced musical acts, celebrity residents, and a drone show to entertain the crowd, who over the past six months had endured the most traumatic period in the town’s more than 100 years of history.
The event attracted 4,000 celebrants or about the same number that have attended during previous years, according to Matthew Rodman, the president of Palisades Americanism Parade Association, which organizes the annual event.
Fun was in the air as kids cavorted in the inflatables, snacked on food from the numerous trucks, and danced with abandon to the lively music. “Uncle Sam” walked around on stilts as he normally does in the parade. The PaliHi band played a trio of tunes, then local artist and UCLA student Matty Gottesman led a band of fellow students in playing a snappy, vibrant mix of originals and cover tunes that got members of the crowd dancing.
Matty Gottsman (center) surrounded by other band members played during the July 4th Festival, that provided an evening of great fun.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN
“It was a very fun, amazing experience to be here,” said Gottesman afterwards, noting that his family lost their Alphabet Streets home in the fire. “It’s a very full circle moment to be here with family and friends to celebrate after a difficult year.”
Before the vibrant cover band Vinyl Jam next energized the audience with songs ranging from Beyoncé’s Crazy in Love to Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A., Lagana introduced the next honorary mayors of Pacific Palisades, married actors Gigi and Ted McGinley. The two placed their hands on the book, Growing Up in Pacific Palisades by Stewart Slavin, and swore to “honor the town of Pacific Palisades with dignity, warmth, and good humor.”
Emcees Sam Lagana (left) and Kimi Petrick (right), swore in Palisades new honorary co-mayors Gigi Rice and Ted McGinley.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN
“We’re proud to be Palisadians,” McGinley said.
Later, actor and former Palisades Honorary Mayor Steve Guttenberg was welcomed in a live video appearance where he encouraged residents to embrace positivity and shared the oft-repeated maxim, “If you’re rich, you live in Beverly Hills. If you’re famous, you live in Malibu. If you’re lucky, you live in Pacific Palisades.”
Fellow former Honorary Mayors Billy and Janice Crystal, who lost their home of 46 years in the fire, arrived towards the end of the show to share some thoughts with the crowd.
“It’s so great to see so many friends and neighbors that we haven’t seen in so long, and thank you for putting this together,” Janice said. “It’s unbelievable.”
Her husband agreed, and, after a couple of jokes, the actor/comedian said, “We’ve lost a lot, but the things you can never lose are the people who you love and your memories, and all of that is close to your heart. … We will keep moving forward, and next year, we will be putting our chairs out on Sunset Blvd. and waiting for the parade to start.”
Two musical traditions were also renewed. First, third-generation Palisadian Chantal Trent led the singing of This Land Is Your Land, then Rich Wilken, who grew up in the Palisades, introduced a heartfelt thank you to veterans and first responders featuring Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the U.S.A.
Everyone had fun at the event at Paul Revere at the annual July 4 show. Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN
Event organizers Matthew Rodman and Daphne Gronich received grateful applause before Lagana introduced the finale: a drone show. The 250 drones, accompanied by music, drew pictures in the sky and spelled words designed to inspire the crowd.
While the Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun played, the word “Resilience” lit up the sky. “Raise Pali,” “Hope,” and “Community” were also spelled out by the drones, and symbols of the beach town, such as a lifeguard shack, a leaping dolphin, and a surfer riding a wave, also appeared over the crowd.
In addition, a skydiver falling brought to mind the normal Fourth of July start to the parade, while American icons like the flag and Uncle Sam kept the patriotic flair.
When the show ended and people packed up to go home, they expressed gratitude and appreciation for the event.
“It felt very special to be back together and be in a joyful setting,” said Alexis Le Guier, whose burned Alphabet Streets home had a new foundation poured on Wednesday. “I’m anxious to get home and be back with everybody. This was a foreshadowing of good things to come.”
Hayden and Rob Ellison, whose family lost three houses in the fire, expressed similar sentiments. Both had worried in the aftermath of the fire about how the town would celebrate the Fourth, which Rob noted was “the most important day of the year in the Palisades.”
“It was really heartwarming to see the community come together,” Hayden said. “It was better than I could have imagined.”
A new generaton of Palisadians were welcomed to the annual 4th of July celebration.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN
On Monday, CTN checked in with Rodman and Gronich.
“We want to thank the community, our volunteers, sponsors, donors and vendors for their part in the most important Pacific Palisades July 4th celebration since its founding 78 years ago by our lead sponsor, the Palisades American Legion,” Rodman said. “Together we will rebuild our community from the ground up, brick by brick, so that we may all return to the idyllic town we know as home.”
Gronich added, “In planning the Palisades July 4th events, we have always tried to improve on the history and experience of the day. This year, we had to rethink everything. Starting a couple of days after the Fire (and after realizing that we had both lost our family homes), Matthew and I began by asking ourselves, what is it that this community needs most at this unprecedented time? And what is it that our July 4th gathering can uniquely provide? The answer for both was the same: a means for our close-knit community members who have all endured a terrible and traumatic ordeal (and who have been scattered far and wide) to reunite and catch up with each other in a safe space – some for the first time since last July 4th.
Both agreed that seeing friends and neighbors reconnecting after months apart was joyous and gratifying to the PAPA volunteers who made the evening happen.
Not only was the music great, but the kids loved all the activities, including visiting the Revere Farm goats.
“The drone show with its messages and imagery, was a moving coda for the entire evening,” Gronich said. “We felt humbled to be able to deliver such a special event and to share the experience with our family, friends and neighbors.”
A drone show capped the evening.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN
Fantastic story! Sue, you and your writing team are a gift to the town.