Each year on St. Joseph’s Day, tiny swallows begin to arrive at San Juan Capistrano after winging hundreds of miles from Argentina. To celebrate these world-famous birds and the colorful history of the city, San Juan Capistrano rolls out the largest non-motorized parade in the nation and holds a street fair with more than 175 vendors.
This year, the 56th annual Swallows Day Parade and Mercado will be held Saturday, March 22. This is a popular event and traffic and parking may be difficult, especially with the freeway construction at the Ortega Highway (SR-74) and the San Diego Freeway (I-5) interchange.
To encourage visitors to leave their cars home and take the convenient Metrolink train instead, OCTA will hold a pre-event celebration at the Tustin Metrolink Station on Saturday, March 22 beginning at 8:30 a.m. The first 50 visitors will receive a free Metrolink ticket to San Juan Capistrano. With live music, free food and prizes, the kickoff is a great way to begin the celebration of the swallows.
The parade begins at 11 a.m., but visitors should plan to arrive early to avoid the street closures that start at 10 a.m.
Learn more at octa.net/swallows2014.
