Sunset Beach celebrates each year with its "No Parade" tradition. Come in a dressed up car, wear some sparkles and bring your lights, cause we're having no parade tonight.

No Parade is nothing to get excited about. Itt's a no-fuss celebration that brings out the BBQ pits, the containerized fires with their warm embers, music amongst friends and a parade like NO other. To explain what it's about, first let us read you the flyer that was distributed in Sunset Beach the week before Christmas. Here is what it said:

"NO" Parade

It's that time of the year again. We've all seen the beautifully decorated boats wafting through Huntington Harbour. Not only were the boats attractive, some of those parties looked like a lot of fun, too.

Per Sunset Beach tradition, there will be NO Boat Parade. Watch for the Fire Truck Participants Welcome! DooDah, DooDah and Happy Holidays!

- End-

The strategy of planning a NO Parade - The lead vehicle in the NO Parade is the town's fire truck, driven by the Firefighter volunteers. If there's a fire (no one remembers that happening during the parade), then they'll cross that bridge when they get to it. Before the parade in 2007, a rock band, Jungle Juice, performed Zeppelin and other cover tunes to raise money for the volunteer Fire Department.  Each community event is seen as an opportunity to raise money for the volunteer services that keep the unincorporated town operating in a manner it likes.

NO Grand Martial--Expect to be challenged if you enter your vehicle with a sign that says, "Grand Martial" and you place in extremely small print (Self-Appointed). That's what happened in the NO Parade we attended, shown in the pictures.

NO awards are given but if they were, we'd have a kids category for the five children who rode in wagons or on their scooters. A home decorating contest does exist, and the award-winning house makes a great backdrop for the 30-second to minute-long parade passing by.

Parade Entries: Four Woody Cars entered the NO Parade. Word on the street (Pacific St. North) was that someone in Sunset called up a friend and told him there would be an opportunity to get out the woody and show it off. One woody appeared to have come from Laguna Beach, and included a huge Thalia Street sticker on the back mounted tire cover. Several of the woodies were previously seen in the Huntington Beach hometown Christmas parade in Huntington Beach three weeks previous.

Should you wish to become a part of next year's event, just plan to keep it to the streets of Sunset Beach and you'll have NO fee for entry, can donate to the community causes as a NO-sponsor of the volunteer Fire Department and your biggest challenge will be in determining on what Saturday the parade will be held, though it seems to occur just before Christmas each year.