Standing room only
Each Fourth of July is Donnie Erickson’s chance to shine.
An annual tradition since he can remember, the 11-year-old Smith Elementary School student spends the night before each Independence
Day decorating his grey Mongoose bicycle with confetti, banners and
red, white and blue streamers. Two American flags stand at attention
on each of his handlebars.
“It’s so much fun because everyone shouts ‘Hi’ to me when I ride
down the street,” he said. “I’m famous like a movie star.”
After 101 years of tradition, Huntington Beach kicked off its 2005
Fourth of July parade without any major glitches. Despite the 250
entries and the 150,000 people in attendance, the parade continues to
keep its neighborly feel and patriotic theme.
“Huntington Beach is a big city that likes to think it’s still a
small town,” Fountain Valley resident Margie Mayers said. “For today,
we’ll just keep pretending. I’m not going to spoil it for anyone.”
Many parade viewers said they come to the parade each year to
enjoy a taste of Americana that is increasing hard to find in
Southern California.
“Where else can you hear the mayor sing the National Anthem and
God Bless America?” said Petrie Simons, referring to Mayor Jill
Hardy’s performance at a gala dinner the night before. “It’s not
quite Mayberry, but it’s not quite Newport Beach either. It’s our
town.”
As usual, the biggest crowd pleasers were the city’s military
representatives. The Air National Guard band and a float carrying
Vietnam veterans received large applause, while groups of Pearl
Harbor survivors received an ongoing standing ovation down the length
of the route.
“Those guys are studs,” Mike Lyons said from a Main Street front
yard where he was enjoying a beer.
The most emotional response from parade-watchers was for the
city’s “Thundering Third,” a Marine battalion out of Camp Pendleton
formally adopted by the City Council earlier this year. As a
contingent of the Marines marched down the 3 1/2 -mile parade route,
people stood at attention, waved and even saluted the Marines, many
of whom have served in Iraq.
As always, the crowd was thick, with some people standing four to
five deep to catch a glimpse of the action. Musical floats prompted
viewers to dance and sing along. A favorite was the city’s Interfaith
Council float, with Father Christian Mondor of Saints Simon and Jude
Catholic Church strumming a classic folk melody on his banjo to stir
up the audience.
After the parade wound down and many visitors left, others chose
to stay Downtown and hop around to various barbecues and frontyard
parties.
Come sunset, a massive throng of people convened on the Huntington
Beach Pier to watch the fireworks show, which was shot off the pier
this year after last year’s show from a barge failed to impress many
in the crowd.
“It was 10 times better” this year, said Terri Preston, who
attended the show with her twin daughters Farah and Dawn. “Very
impressive -- the way fireworks in Huntington Beach should be done.”
By 10:30 p.m., the city was nearly cleared out and cleaning crews
began working to remove the tons of trash the crowd left behind.
With the Fourth of July set to fall in the middle of the week
until 2008, many expect this year’s parade to be the biggest of its
kind for several years.
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