Parading for unity

Laguna Beach was pretty wild in 1967. There was a diverse crowd with many lifestyles, spiritual and political beliefs. The Vietnam War was in full swing and Timothy Leary’s Brotherhood of Eternal Love was quietly making LSD in Laguna Canyon.

Emily Ross thought it was time to come up with an event that would unify the community around one central theme — no matter what their beliefs or lifestyles, she believed Lagunans were all Americans.

Ross founded the Patriots Day Parade, which is dedicated to the ideal of unity.

“The idea was to look at what it meant to really be an American,” said Charles J. Quilter II, the president of the parade.

“They wanted to have some kind of an event that would bring us together instead of pull us apart, and that’s still the goal today.”

The first Patriots Day Parade was Feb. 22, 1967. Red, white and blue-clad residents have gathered every year since.

This year’s theme is Stars and Stripes Forever, based on the famous John Philip Sousa march.

Sousa wrote the song in 1897, a time when the United States was in transition from post-Civil War rebuilding to becoming a world power.

This was a time when people came together more under the U.S. banner instead of individual states. That is the same goal as the parade, Quilter said.

Each parade selects a group of outstanding Lagunans as honorees. Harry Lawrence, the 1981 parade’s Citizen of the Year, will fill the post as Grand Marshall this year.

Naturally, the parade also honors a citizen who has served in the military. The 2008 Patriot of the Year is Robert Meyerhoff, who won a Bronze Star as an Army Medic in the Italian campaign of World War II. Meyerhoff was actually a native of Germany, so he had to secure extra recommendations to join the U.S. Army.

Claes Andersen, master chef and owner of Hotel Laguna, is the 2008 Citizen of the Year. Rebekah Farrar and Paul Hester are the Junior Citizens of the Year.

The parade is open to all non-religious and non-political groups.

The policy earned the Laguna Beach Patriots Day Parade some national attention in 2006 when the Minuteman Project was denied the right to march because of a political agenda. The group sued, but the judge ruled that the parade has the right to choose who marches.

Everyone from Boy Scouts to the Chamber of Commerce participates. Veteran’s groups, bagpipers, school bands and even Waste Management march.

“Virtually every civic and charitable organization participates,” Quilter said. “It’s kind of a rite of passage for our young people. It would be very hard to have grown up in Laguna Beach and never participate in the parade.”

Quilter expects there to be a large turnout.

“Half the town is in the parade and the other half watches,” he said.

• Park Avenue — between Wendt Terrace and South Coast Highway.

• Glenneyre — between Legion Street and Forest Avenue.

• Forest Avenue — between North Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road.

• Third Street — between Park and Forest avenues.

• Second Street — between Mermaid Street and Forest Avenue.

• Mermaid Street — between Second and Third streets.

What: Patriots Day Parade

When: 11 a.m. Saturday

Where: From Laguna Beach High School on Park Avenue through downtown to City Hall on Forest Avenue.

Cost: free

Information: Attendees can watch the parade from Laguna Beach High School down Park Avenue, and along Glenneyre Street and Forest Avenue. www.lagunabeachparade.org