(Dec. 20, 2011) — Dec. 3 marked Montrose’s 35th annual Christmas parade. The festive evening gave way to hundreds of Christmas-spirited parade-goers lining the sidewalks with their pull-out chairs and blankets, preparing themselves for the low temperatures that lay ahead. With strong gusts of wind blowing and “Jingle Bells” blasting from the multiple speakers along the parade route, the Crescenta Valley Mountain Bike Team pedalled their way through the crowd. Having all eyes on them, it came time for these avid high school bikers to show off their long-awaited routine. Members of both Clark’s and Crescenta Valley’s bike clubs circled their way around the crowd, with several variations of routines. With a total of 147 parade entries, these bikers felt that they needed something to make them stand out from their fellow parade organizations. After several weeks of practice, they were able to do a short routine, stopping in different areas to showcase their final product to the hundreds of families watching from both sides of the street. For sophomore Sevag Bosnoyan, a Montrose Parade first-timer, performing with several eyes fixed upon him is not included in his daily agenda. “I usually just bike with my friends, but being in the parade was really fun,” Bosnoyan said. “They’ve been practicing for weeks,” said Bike Club advisor Carol Pettegrew. “It all paid off because they went through the whole parade without messing up.” With Crescenta Valley’s bike team being the only one of its kind in the city, performing in the annual event is a way of gaining recognition. “A lot of people aren’t aware that we even have a bike club here,” Pettegrew said. Unlike the bike team, Relay for Life members swiftly walked through the alarmingly large groups of people, enduring the bitter cold. With large smiles on their faces, Relay for Life students disregarded the weather in an effort to raise awareness for cancer. Sophomore Sarin Mousessian, a Relay for Life club member, took part in the parade alongside other students from Relay for Life from all over Glendale and La Crescenta in hopes of giving people a better understanding of the deadly disease. Without cycling around or walking beside moving robots as Robotics did, the Relay for Life members paraded through the street chanting different slogans to the audience. “Relay for Life, a cure for cancer!” was one motto the group of students reiterated. The robotics team entered the parade as one of the last groups of the evening and still managed to leave a lasting impression on the crowd as they walked alongside their robots Reptar and String Theory. With its colorful lights and festive decorations, the two robots became the center of attention. “All of the little kids were definitely fascinated by them,” senior Vahe Baboomian said. “We actually had to meet up the day before to make sure every little detail was perfect; walking down with two undecorated robots would have been really boring.” Students in the parade, whether it was their first time or not, put everything aside as they spent their few moments in the spotlight spreading the word about different organizations and clubs. As Mousessian stated, not enough people are aware of several organizations and taking part in the parade was a good way to fix it. “I had a great time and hopefully I can be in the parade again next year,” Bosnoyan said.