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ANAHEIM, Calif. (Jan. 31, 2024) — The streets of downtown Anaheim will fill with African American pride, family fun and community celebration on Saturday, Feb. 3, as we host the 44th annual Orange County Black History Parade & Unity Festival.
Thousands are expected to join around City Hall to watch marching bands, dance teams, double Dutch squads, community groups, dignitaries, vintage and exotic cars and more.
Big Boy, morning show radio host of Real 92.3 and stations across the country, is this year’s parade grand marshal.
A Unity Festival street fair follows the parade with music, food trucks, vendors, a youth village and health screenings.
This year marks Anaheim’s 12th year hosting the parade, Orange County’s only black history parade.
The parade and fair are put on by the Orange County Heritage Council, a volunteer nonprofit that promotes cultural awareness and the historical contributions of Blacks in Orange County and across the nation.
What to know
What: Orange County Black History Parade & Unity Fair
When: Saturday, Feb. 3
Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Parade: 10 a.m.
Unity Festival: noon
Cost: Free! Food and crafts for purchase
Parking: City Hall, Center Street parking structures
Road closures: Anaheim Boulevard, Center Street Promenade, parts of streets from Lincoln Avenue to Water Street
Parade route
The Black History Parade stages at the southeast corner of Pearson Park, just north of Lincoln Avenue in downtown.
The parade lasts for about an hour and ends at Santa Ana Street.
You can watch the parade from either side of Anaheim Boulevard along the route.
The parade’s announcers will be at Anaheim Boulevard and Center Street Promenade near City Hall.
Unity Fair
The Unity Fair sets up early Saturday morning and gets into full swing after the parade around noon.
The street fair is along Center Street Promenade from Anaheim Boulevard to about Harbor Boulevard and includes intersecting Lemon and Clementine streets.
It includes nearly 100 booths with arts, crafts, games, food and youth and health villages.
Three stages feature bands and DJs, while a culture stage hosts guest speakers, artists and Black history discussions.
Parking
Parking for the parade and street fair is available in structures around City Hall.
The easiest parking is in the structure just east of City Hall off Broadway and a red brick structure along Center Street East, just northeast of City Hall.
Please note: City Hall structure parking will be impacted by the closure of Broadway (see road closures below).
Additional structures are along Anaheim Boulevard, accessible from the north via West Lehman Way.
Road closures
Everyone is welcome to watch the parade and join the street fair. But if you’re not planning on joining, it’s best to avoid the area for your own convenience.
Here are Saturday road closures:
PEARSON PARK
Lemon Street and Cypress Street at the southeast corner of the park will close starting at 6:45 a.m. for parade staging. Park streets are expected to reopen around 11:30 a.m.
LINCOLN AVENUE
Closed from Clementine Street to just east of Anaheim Boulevard starting at 8 a.m. This is where the parade launches, going south on Lemon Street from Pearson Park to Lincoln and then onto the main route down Anaheim Boulevard. Lincoln should reopen by noon.
ANAHEIM BOULEVARD
Closed from Lincoln for about a half mile to Water Street starting at 9 a.m. Anaheim Boulevard is expected to reopen by noon after the parade ends.
BROADWAY
Closed from Olive Street to Lemon Street starting 9 a.m. Please note: this will impact later arrival parking in the City Hall parking structure. Broadway is expected to reopen by noon.
SANTA ANA STREET, OTHERS INTERSECTING WITH ANAHEIM BOULEVARD
Santa Ana Street and others intersecting with Anaheim Boulevard will be closed at or near the intersection starting at 9 a.m. and reopening around noon.
CENTER STREET PROMENADE AREA
Center Street Promenade and adjoining Clementine and Lemon streets will close early Saturday morning to set up the street fair, which gets in full swing around noon. The Center Street Promenade area will reopen around 6 p.m.
