Nipomo celebrates 4th of July with annual community-wide parade

NIPOMO, Calif. -- An annual Fourth of July tradition in Nipomo once again brought out big crowds along many miles of community streets.

For the sixth straight year, Nipomo held a Fourth of July parade to in honor of Jim Tefft, a longtime community volunteer who died in 2016.

First held in 2017, the parade traveled along East Tefft Street for the first three years.

Instantly, the event became a popular attraction, bringing out thousands of people to the sidewalks and neighborhoods in the Old Town area.

However, in 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic forced parade organizers to shift the format into a community-wide parade of cars, trucks and other vehicles that traveled throughout much of the Nipomo area.

Instead of parade goers attending in a single location along East Tefft Street, the parade came out into the town, covering several miles of local streets and roads.

The modified format was used again in 2021 and once again this year.

The two-hour long parade began at 11 a.m. Monday morning at Nipomo High School and ended at St. Joseph's Catholic Church.

Over the course of the parade, the vehicles traveled more than 12 miles in various streets around the Nipomo community.

VFW Post 10978 Nipomo and the Nipomo Rotary Club both helped organize the parade. All participants were treated with hamburgers and hot dogs after the event concluded.