Orange Multicultural Festival Has Them Dancing in the Streets--and Eating Too

As 3-year-old Micaela Rodgers watched transfixed, a blue balloon dog took shape before her Saturday.

First Mister Balloon Man twisted the bulging object into a head, a trunk, a tail.

“Now let’s do one more special thing,” he told Micaela as he adorned the dog with a bright crimson balloon heart. He handed the sculpture--complete with a thin balloon leash--to the blond-haired Tustin child, who promptly tried leading it along the sidewalk.

Mister Balloon Man, otherwise known as Dale Carlson of Placentia, expects to make balloons for as many as 1,500 children this weekend as the Orange International Street Fair celebrates its 25th anniversary.

He was stationed at the center of Old Towne, two balloon mice perched atop his hat, a rainbow-like array of hundreds of unfilled balloons hanging from his waist.

In his regular life, he works for a spice company, but for four years, he has made colorful dogs, frogs and whales for children in hospitals and shelters.

His vision of balloon-making corresponds with the Labor Day weekend fair’s blending of cultures.

“Balloons are interracial,” Carlson said. “All children respond to balloons. Even adults do.”

He paused to caution a family carrying away an orange balloon creation, “If that pops while you’re here, you come back. In this heat, it may pop.”

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Countless children could be seen toting balloon sculptures amid the crowded street fair as temperatures soared into the mid-80s. In all, more than 500,000 people are expected at the fair, which began Friday and concludes today, running from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

A total of 88 nonprofit organizations participate, and an estimated 1,200 volunteers, organizers said. Nearly 70 craft booths and a bounty of ethnic food booths filled the Orange Plaza area at Chapman Avenue and Glassell Street.

Fair-goers swayed to music, scrutinized artwork, relaxed with back massages, sipped lemonade and sampled international foods from souvlakia to teriyaki to Dutch sausage with sauerkraut.

The Danes took top honors in the ethnic booth contest announced Saturday afternoon. Booths were judged for best display of ethnic costume, food and decoration.

At the Danish booth, under a bright red-and-white tent roof, workers were busy serving up food to hungry fair-goers. A popular item was the traditional dish called Ableskiver, with powdered sugar and jam.

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“It’s not a pancake. It’s not a doughnut. It’s not a bagel. It’s something in between,” explained Doris Hansen of Long Beach, president of the Viking Club, made up of Danish groups. Born in Copenhagen, Hansen wore a costume of white skirt, black vest and bright red cap. She credited her booth’s success to its tables, chairs, decorative trees and the Danish red-and-white color motif.

Many organizers and booth volunteers have returned year after year. Hansen has worked here at least 20 years. Marshall Feduk of Anaheim can remember the late 1970s when, he says, the fair was geared more toward struggling arts.

Today, he applauds its emphasis on harmony. In fact, his wife, Ann Feduk, designed the colorful fair logo featuring flags of many countries.

The two were busy making T-shirts at their booth Saturday.

“The whole focus has been to create an atmosphere of harmony within the different ethnic backgrounds,” Feduk said. “It’s just human contact and a handshake.”