Novato Parade

There’s nothing quite like a parade to bring a community together and this one does just that. This popular parade is one of the largest in the San Francisco Bay Area, boasting more than one hundred entries. While getting up early in the morning on a weekend may not sound like the most appealing idea, your efforts will pay off in the form of prime seats for viewing the spectacle. For years now, crowds line Novato’s Grant Avenue where the parade begins in the city’s Old Town district to watch the pageant of classic cars and color guards, festive floats and music bands, fancy cowgirls on golden palominos, and decorated basset hounds. The parade is also famous for its contingent of vintage military vehicles from the Joe Garbarino World War II Military Vehicle Museum.

If You Go:

When: Saturday, July 4 at 10 a.m.

Where: Grant Ave. Between Reichert and 7th Avenue in Novato

Cost: Free


Kasia Pawlowska

Kasia Pawlowska loves words. A native of Poland, Kasia moved to the States when she was seven. The San Francisco State University creative writing graduate went on to write for publications like the San Francisco Bay Guardian and KQED Arts among others prior to joining the Marin Magazine staff. Topics Kasia has covered include travel, trends, mushroom hunting, an award-winning series on social media addiction and loads of other random things. When she’s not busy blogging or researching and writing articles, she’s either at home writing postcards and reading or going to shows. Recently, Kasia has been trying to branch out and diversify, ie: use different emojis. Her quest for the perfect chip is never-ending.