(Editor’s note: This is an edited version–the longer version of the story will be in the PAPA Parade Tab, which will be in every resident’s mailbox next week. CTN is running it before the weekend, so residents can go purchase bunting and flags to decorate their homes.)
(Left to right) Honorary Palisades Mayor Eugene Levy, Lulu and Cindy Simon and contest sponsors Joan Sather and Susan Montgomery at the winning home on Toyopa. Photo: Morgan Genser
By: ALISON BURMEISTER
The Home Decorating Contest, in conjunction with the Palisades Americanism Parade Association (PAPA), helps celebrate the unique nature of Pacific Palisades every Fourth of July.
Like a scene out of Mayberry RFD, residents are encouraged to commemorate our “small town” community in a big way!
Family, friends and neighbors are asked to decorate houses and front yards with homespun creations, American flags and all things red, white and blue, for the contest, sponsored by Sotheby real estate agent, Susan Montgomery.
“It’s all about getting into the spirit!” said Montgomery, who has co-hosted the contest for the past five years. This will mark the 11th year of the PAPA Patriotic Home Decorating Contest.
“It’s such a great day for Pacific Palisades, the perfect blend of community and patriotism,” Montgomery said. “That is why we do it.
“When I moved from Brentwood to the Palisades in the late ’90s, I had no idea that I would end up in a community that felt a world away from Los Angeles. It almost has a cult following,” Montgomery said of the Palisades’ Fourth of July.
People come from all over to participate in the morning 5/10K race, to see the parade and then the fireworks at night.
“The most fun is the day we decorate the golf cart and drive around with the honorary mayor to take photos,” Montgomery said.
Last year co-sponsor Joan Sather (now deceased) and Montgomery were joined by the comic actor, Eugene Levy. “We had a blast. People loved him,” Montgomery said. “He was talking to all the kids and embracing peoples’ pets. Contestants were excited to take photos with Levy in front of their decorated homes.”
“Organizing the parade is no small feat,” Montgomery noted, giving a grateful thanks to the many volunteers who make it work. “There is a lot that goes into getting the 4th of July in Pacific Palisades off the ground. From permits and fireworks to food trucks and skydivers.
“But at the heart of it all is the community that celebrates the best small town in America on the Fourth of July,” Montgomery said, urging everyone to enlist kids, neighbors and grandparents and start decorating. “Help make this Fourth of July Home Decorating Contest the best one yet.”
The Farham/Robletto Home on Via de la Paz won the Home Decorating Contest in 2019.
ENTER THE HOME
DECORATING CONTEST:
No matter where you live — Castellammare, the Highlands, El Medio Bluffs, Alphabet Streets, Huntington, the Riviera, Rustic Canyon, a mobile home park, an apartment building, a condominium — everyone in the 90272 zip code area is eligible and encouraged to enter.
This year, awards will be given to the Most Patriotic Home, the Runner-Up Most Patriotic Home, and new this year, will be the Joan Sather Memorial Sponsor’s Award, given to the home that employs the most outstanding use of homemade decorative elements.
Entries must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on July 2. Preliminary judging will be conducted upon submitted photos. Final judging will be conducted in person, and awards presented by local celebrities on the afternoon of July 3.
David Trotti and Amy Kate Connolly with their patriotically-decorated home on Haverford in 2018.