Santa Plans 2 Visits to Southland : Beverly Hills, Pasadena to Hold Holiday Season Kickoffs

Looks like the day after Thanksgiving is going to be a big day for Southland kids.

At 6 p.m. Friday, fashionable Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills will be closed to traffic between Wilshire Boulevard and El Camino Drive. . . .

Why? Well for one thing, reindeer in the streets tend to play havoc with vehicular traffic. That, as any kid can tell you, is because Santa’s reindeer, who came with him all the way from Finnish Lapland, prefer to fly. Plus they have a rather tough time reading American street signs.

Besides, when you’ve got Mel Torme and Whoopi Goldberg, Ronald McDonald, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Santa Claus, the 750-voice Beverly Hills Holiday Youth Choir and the International Youth Choir all milling around on the same block, you wouldn’t get very far in a car anyhow.

At 8 p.m., Friday, the Beverly Hills Holiday Pageant gets under way. Now in its third year, the pageant has grown into one of the major such events in the country.

Trip for Youngsters

Sponsored by Finnair, the Finnish Tourist Board, the Consulate General of Finland and the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, the pageant will send 20 Southland children from Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times (a program for children with cancer) back to Finnish Lapland for a week at Mr. and Mrs. Claus’ cozy home within the Arctic Circle.

Mel Torme, who sang at the very first pageant, said he is looking forward to this year’s event. “I’m very honored that I’ve been asked to sing again this year. It’s going to be tough because the next morning very early I go off on a 10-concert tour of Japan. But to me the Beverly Hills Pageant is equally important. I hope it becomes a tradition.”

Torme will sing “The Christmas Song,” with the International Youth Choir for the closing ceremony. “Bob Wells and I wrote that in 1945,” Torme said, “although it didn’t come out till ’46. We always have to identify it as ‘Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.’ . . .”

Beverly Hills Mayor Robert K. Tanenbaum is equally enthusiastic about the event.

“It’s a wonderful celebration,” Tanenbaum said. “I was recently asked by (New York City Mayor) Ed Koch, whom I’ve known for years, how I liked Beverly Hills. I told him that New York may be the greatest city in the world, but Beverly Hills is Camelot, and the pageant is a great thrill for everybody here.”

But the Beverly Hills Pageant isn’t the only event for children on Friday.

Santa in Pasadena

Part of Santa’s magic lies in the fact that he can be any number of places at the same time. This, of course, is how he manages to deliver all those presents to children around the world in a single night.

So it should come as no surprise that the Jolly Old Elf will also be in Pasadena for the “Old Pasadena Celebrates Children’s Day.” Beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, a Tournament of Toys Parade will be led by Santa from Plaza Pasadena down Colorado Boulevard to Memorial Park.

Rose Queen Charmaine Beth Shryock and her court will march to the park, too, where a host of other jolly folks await the children: magicians, jugglers and mimes; the Holiday Bell Ringers; Asian Dragon and Ribbon Dancers; Hispanic Dancers from El Centro; Mr. and Mrs. Billy Bop Rabbit; an antique fire engine with firemen who will present children with badges and . . . well, lots more.

In addition there will be a $1 lunch which has been planned to accommodate up to 2,000 children. It may not be the most nutritious provender around, but what kid could turn down hot dogs, sodas and ice cream?

Old Pasadena Tournament of Toys Parade leaves at 10 a.m. Friday from Plaza Pasadena, Garfield Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. Festivities from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Memorial Park. Information: (818) 449-4443.

Beverly Hills Holiday Pageant begins Friday at Rodeo Drive and Wilshire Boulevard at 8 p.m. Reserved seating $25. Tickets for special holiday cocktail buffet (includes reserved pageant seating) at 6 p.m. in Regent Beverly Wilshire Grand Ballroom: adults $100, children $50. Spectators free and encouraged. Information: (800) 345-2210.