PALISADIANS ON PARADE!

From Skydivers to Singing Kids, the Annual Americanism Celebration Entertains Thousands

By early morning on Independence Day, rows of chairs lined the Pacific Palisades parade route, but the afternoon’s festivities were kicked off with the noontime VIP luncheon at the Methodist church courtyard on Via de la Paz. At the garden party for parade participants, honorary mayor Gavin MacLeod was reunited with his ‘Love Boat’ wife, Marion Ross, this year’s grand marshal. Dressed in a white pantsuit, Ross, best known as Marion Cunningham on ‘Happy Days,’ arrived with real-life hubby Paul Michael. She is no stranger to the smile-and-wave. She has participated at the Hollywood Christmas Parade of years past, and grand marshaled parades in Encinitas and her hometown of Albert Lea, Minnesota. ‘I’m so busy being an icon, I haven’t got time to work,’ Ross joked with the Palisadian-Post before leading the parade in a red Thunderbird convertible. Just after 2 p.m., a team of skydivers, including one female paratrooper in pink, descended onto Sunset Boulevard at Swarthmore, as awestruck crowds packed the corners. Mere minutes after a precision landing, one of the divers, Rich Piccirilli, told the Post that he pin-pointed his plummet by opening ‘the small parachute first, the big parachute last.’ Let’s hope none of us will ever find ourselves in a pinch where we should have memorized this information’ Curbside, families and friends in their lawn chairs enjoyed beverages while watching the parade head up Via de la Paz and snake down Sunset Boulevard. Jim Buerge, the parade’s lead donor whose dealership, Buerge Ford Chrysler/Jeep, provided many of the featured vehicles, rode through in a (appropriately colored) burgundy 2008 Mustang hybrid. From his horse-drawn carriage, PAPA president Rob Weber said, ‘Perfect weather, perfect parade. It’s great to see everybody out here today.’ Dozens of children, from the Palisades-Malibu YMCA kids, singing an apt Village People hit, to a busload of pre-teens atop the Chabad of Palisades bus, entertained parade-gazers. A busload featured the slightly older Theatre Palisades dramatis personae smiling and waving. Newly minted Chamber of Commerce president Antonia Balfour, with family, floated by in a ’77 Excalibur convertible. An LAPD officer whizzed around on a Segway, while firemen from Station 69 drove through in a fleet of firefighting vehicles that included an early 20th-century fire truck. A different kind of fleet featured about a dozen little girls on pink bikes, and about 60 Patriotic Pups came padding along Sunset. Several people on horseback, including a couple dressed straight out of the Old West, marched down Sunset, as did the fantasy costumed Lindsay Cravy atop Zahara, her 16-year-old Arabian. Other notables: Palisadian and Olympian Carl Lewis, gliding by in an orange Mustang convertible; City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo rode with his two sons; County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky; and State Assemblymember Julia Brownley. Throw a parade, and all kinds of crazy characters show up. Ask the Westside Rentals warrior, who skulked around town like an extra from the movie ‘300.’ The original Bozo the Clown may have passed away last week, but parade clown Bill Prachar didn’t miss a beat, performing his circus antics to the delight of kids young and old. Prachar has honked his hip-side horn in the parade for many years, albeit with some help at past parades. ‘It’s a great community thing to do,’ Prachar said. ‘We used to have a whole clown corps and I’m the remaining clown.’ Watching from the sidewalks, some citizens gave back as much energy as they received from the procession. With a shirt boasting a large peace sign and holding her chihuahua pal Baby Shorty Girl Gordy, Valerie Robeson, a veteran attendee of 20 parades, enthusiastically cheered the passing cars while getting her brethren spectators pumped. ‘With me out here,’ she said, ‘I just get everybody going.’ Ron Schectman, who came down from Thousand Oaks with his wife, has attended the parade on and off for three decades. ‘I was gonna wear a hat from the 1976 parade,’ said Schectman, who brought his kids to the parade and now comes with his grandchildren, too. He remembered seeing then-honorary mayor Adam ‘Batman’ West riding on a float during the bicentennial year. A group of seniors and their caretakers, representing Sunrise Assisted Living of Pacific Palisades, watched the parade in style along Via de la Paz. Several feet away, Evita Rose, 1, struggled to stand up to see the Lancers, a 115-person marching band from Mankato, Minnesota, strut their stuff with a combustive combination of music and choreography. Many along the route shook and grooved as the New Orleans Jazz Band Traditional energized the crowd with its infectious Mardi Gras-style reverie that included beads flying into the hands of lucky parade-goers. Having the most fun on this festive occasion were the kids. Keith Gray, 5, has never missed a Palisades parade in his life, and there he was again this year, dressed in star-spangled overalls fashioned from vintage flag material, waving his American flag. Farther up Via, Cosima Auermann, 11, found her spot. On Sunset, Carolina Boltiansky, 11, watched with brother Brian, 8, and his pal Jackson Collar, 8-and-a-half, as local boys Tommy Lutz and Louie Friedman wailed on their saxophones as part of the local Oom PaPa Band. Decked out in an Angels uniform, Jaden Stauff, 1, waved her flag vigorously alongside sister Madeline, 3. Inevitably, the parade ended its run on Toyopa Drive, where a row of backyard barbecues”including the Buerges’ annual worst-kept secret”kept the hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, and good will coming, and fostered a party atmosphere that continued straight up to the fireworks unleashed at day’s end.