Santa Clarans celebrated local community leaders on Oct. 3, with the return of the Parade of Champions.

The 57th Parade of Champions Festival drew thousands of attendees to downtown Santa Clara. Event organizers anticipated up to 12,000 visitors, similar to attendance in years past. This year’s festivities began with the Breakfast of Champions at 8:30 a.m. and ran until 5 p.m.

The city appointed several grand marshals this year, including Leslie Osborne, co-founder of women’s professional soccer team Bay FC; former San Jose Earthquakes player Robert O’Shea “Shea” Salinas; and Santa Clara Swim Club’s Kevin Zacher.

This year marks the swim club’s 75th anniversary and Zacher’s fifth year as head coach. Eighty Olympic athletes have trained at the swim club — Lynn Burke won the club’s first gold medal during the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

Zacher grew up in Oregon knowing about Santa Clara because of the swim club. His wife, Tere, said people across the globe have recognized the club’s T-shirts during their travels. In one instance, a Southern California airport security agent recognized the swim club and called out the Zachers — they thought they set off an X-ray machine.

“We’re on our way to producing more Olympians,” Kevin told the Voice. “That’s our goal.”

The parade of champions dates back to 1945, when longtime Santa Clara resident Larry Marsalli completed his army service in WWII. Marsalli, who later became mayor and was known as “Mr. Santa Clara,” wanted to honor other military troops returning to the city.

Marsalli ran the annual parade until he retired in 1995. The parade went on hiatus until Ana Vargas-Smith, sitting president of the parade’s board of directors, returned to Santa Clara from living in Pasadena. The parade of champions has resumed annually since 2019, including virtual programming in 2020.

“I was like, ‘What happened to the parade?’” Vargas-Smith recalled. “People said, ‘Oh, nobody could do it.’ So we found people who loved it.”

The parade serves as a community-building event for attendees and local organizations. The Mission City Federal Credit Union passed out paper fans to passersby, and Assembly Member Patrick Ahren’s booth shared information about state resources with visitors.

Scout Troop 394 led the festival’s flag raising and pledge of allegiance. David Scharberg, scoutmaster for the troop’s 43 members, said the community’s participation in the festival gives Santa Clara a small-town feel, despite being the heart of Silicon Valley. The scouts, he said, raised flags at the state of the city on Wednesday and tabled at the Art and Wine Festival last month.

“Young people,” Scharberg said, “are what will keep you with a sense of hope for the future.”

Chris Ramirez is a California Local News Fellow.

Previous Parade of Champions:
2025 Parade of Champions A Day Long Community Event
2024 Parade of Champions Braves Record Temperatures
54th Parade of Champions Beats the Heat
Sun Shines on 2022 Parade of Champions