Some spectators camped out as early as 2:00 am just to get a front row seat to the 62nd Annual Mother Goose Parade, said to be the second largest west of the Mississippi River. Organizers estimate 150,000 people attended the event.
Robert McNichols lives in El Cajon and arrived at 5:00 am to get his desired seat. "You have to get hear early. I've seen it five times, it's the best," said McNichols.
Young fans screeched when stars of hit shows like "I, Carly" and "High School Musical" walked down the red carpet before the parade started. Boy bands like Menudo and N.L.T. were also present.
Other celebrities included Honorary Grand Marshals KayCee Stroh and Adrian Gonzalez. They led a parade of stars ranging from Alan Thicke ("Growing Pains") and Jerry Mathers ("Leave it to Beaver") to Matthew Underwood ("Zoey 101") and rapper Jesse Hart.
Organizers beamed with pride as parade progressed with few problems. "There's a lot of directors that were working a whole lot of hours to make this come to fruition," said Patti Shryock of the Mother Goose Parade Association. She said the main objective was to put smiles the faces of children. It seems that the event succeeded it in its goals.
