FOURTH OF JULY PARADE HIGHLIGHTS

Since 1977, residents and visitors have been celebrating the Fourth of July in Pacific Palisades by following the same popular script from early morning to late evening. Promptly at 8:15 a.m. last Friday, Corpus Christi eighth-grade teacher Ryan Bushore sang the national anthem, and Fire Station 69 paramedics Dane Coyle and Ed Strange followed by starting the 31st annual Will Rogers 5/10K race, which was dedicated to local firefighters and paramedics. Almost 3,000 runners of all ages ran and walked from the Palisades Recreation Center though portions of the Huntington Palisades and Will Rogers State Historic Park, then back to the park’s finish line. Others pushed strollers or walked dogs, and thousands came out to cheer on the runners and visit with neighbors. Some residents provided hoses so that competitors could cool off as they ran by. At 12:30 p.m., the second major event of the day was heralded by the VIP luncheon in the Methodist Church courtyard, just yards from the parade’s starting point at Bowdoin and Via de la Paz. Those who give more than $150 to the Palisades Americanism Parade Association (PAPA) to help defray costs were invited to mingle with parade dignitaries and politicians. (See story, page 7.) While nearly 300 guests enjoyed ‘a taste of the Palisades’ from numerous local restaurants and eateries, parade floats and bands were lining up on Via de la Paz. The first float in line, constructed by John Hart at the Green Floats Company, represented the American Legion and celebrated the organization’s 80th year in Pacific Palisades. Hart said that because he has a warehouse of supplies and props, it took him only a day to assemble the float (at a cost of about $3,000). The cost was justified when the Legion won the parade’s Float Sweepstakes Award for the second year in a row. Farther down the street was the Theatre Palisades entry. ‘We had fun making it,’ said Andy Frew. ‘We started about 9 a.m. this morning by dismantling the truck and turning it into a work of art.’ He pointed to the nearby Palisades-Malibu YMCA float and said, ‘They’re still decorating that one,’ as he watched several people taping up bunting. The PPBA’s annual World Series float carried the three winning teams, the Pinto and Mustang Cubs plus the Bronco Dodgers. ‘It probably took two hours to do the top and we did the wheel cover in one hour,’ said Mustang player Brady Engel. Later came the Palisades Charter High float built by the school’s student marketing club to publicize the proposed Maggie Gilbert Aquatic Center. The students began working on the float on Wednesday, creating signs and putting papier m’ch’ on three dolphins, stuffing a fourth with tissue paper, and painting the canvas on the side of the truck. Although the skydivers had already landed at 2 p.m. to start the parade, Dr. Mike Martini, a former Citizen who marches with the Optimist Club Drill Team, was strolling on Swarthmore. ‘We’re near the end of the parade,’ he said as a way of explaining his lack of urgency to get in the lineup. Scott Smith was the first skydiver to land, followed by Tom Falzone, Annie Helliwell and Rich Piccirilli, who carried the American flag. ‘The clouds were better this year,’ said Helliwell, who is a world-famous BASE jumper. ‘Last year we couldn’t see the landing area until the airplane was right on top of it.’ (BASE stands for ‘buildings, antennas, spans or earth’ and those dives are significantly more dangerous than skydiving from aircraft.) The PaliHi band finished the parade on a high. ‘They kept seeing their friends along the way and waving,’ said director Arwen Hernandez. ‘It’s a good beginning and next year the band will be bigger.’ Not all of the Patriotic Pooches were able to trot the distance, and Kelly Costa, 11, carried nine-month-old Buddy. ‘He got tired, so I picked him up,’ she said. ‘Then I put him down, he walked, then he got tired and then I picked him up again.’ Wylie Hays, 12, brothers Nico, 11 and Finn, 8, pushed their grandmother’s dog in a baby stroller. ‘Abby is about six or seven,’ Wylie said. ‘We put her in the stroller, because she can’t walk the whole way, and besides it was more festive.’ Near the end of the parade route, Dash Aarniokoski, 6, and brother Hunter, 9, were selling lemonade, candy, brownies and cupcakes. ‘We’re raising money for my Boy Scout Troop 400,’ said Hunter. By the time the parade had ended, they had raised a couple of hundred dollars. One of the parade’s most tearful sights was in front of Jackie Leebody’s house on Sunset. A chair was decorated with flags, flowers and photo of her late husband, Bob. ‘He sat here and watched the parade every year,’ Jackie said of her husband of 44 years, who died last September. ‘He loved this country, he loved America. Whenever the American flag went by, he’d stand up. ‘This is the first year he’s missed,’ she said. ‘I know he’s here watching the parade. I can feel it.’ In the evening, the PaliHi football field was filled with people swaying and dancing to the music of The House Band, a rock band made up of Palisades dads, with a special guest appearance by drummer and parade president Ron Weber. At 9 p.m. the fireworks exploded from a new location, the high school quad, which is about 30 ft. higher in elevation than the former firing site. Although the fireworks permit was almost denied because LAFD felt the firing site was too close to the school buildings, the night went off without a hitch, capping a perfect ending to another Palisades Fourth.