Parading the Year of the Dog

The sun was shining, the temperature was a balmy 70 degrees and the silk-ribbon dragons floated on air as their handlers strode to the accompaniment of booming drums and clanging cymbals. Even so, Saturday’s 15th annual Lunar New Year parade in San Gabriel and Alhambra quickly went to the dogs -- Dalmatians, to be exact.

And that was just fine, since the participants were celebrating the Year of the Dog, or 4704 on the Chinese lunar calendar.

Waving from AT&T;’s float, one of nine in the parade, were nine tots dressed to look like bit players from “101 Dalmatians.” Behind them were Amy Soule in a black-and-white Cruella de Vil wig and fake-fur coat, with her husband, Jeremy, and their spotted dog, Daisy, both appearing as Dalmatians -- Daisy quite a bit more convincingly.

John Chien brought his family from Malibu to witness this dollop of melting-pot Americana. “We’re here obviously to enjoy the festivities, to celebrate the Chinese New Year and to expose our kids to some of the culture,” Chien said as he waited curbside along Valley Boulevard for the parade to begin. His sons Dean, 8, and Ryan, 4, sat on the sidewalk playing electronic games to pass the time but perked up once the floats and marching bands brought the thoroughfare to life.

A couple of hours later in L.A.’s Chinatown, marching bands, dancing groups, stilt walkers and bagpipers milled about in the staging area at Main and Aliso streets as participants awaited the start of the 107th Golden Dragon Parade. Although the San Gabriel Valley parade is a draw in the region’s newer Chinese communities, the Chinatown parade remains the granddaddy of these celebrations, with more than 100 floats, marching bands, vintage cars carrying politicos and celebrities, and costumed dancers and musicians.

All eventually surged under the gatekeeper dragons on North Broadway that mark the entrance to Chinatown.

The parade got off to an earsplitting start when Joe Keay of Pyro Spectaculars, under the watchful eyes of Los Angeles fire marshals, lighted the first of 100,000 firecrackers intended to scare off evil spirits. As the fireworks went off in noisy succession, two lion dancing teams scampered back and forth through the billows of gray smoke, energetically raising and thrusting red-and-black lion heads toward the crowd as they stomped on the exploded remnants of the firecrackers.

Leading the parade, as he has for 30 years, was Johnny Yee, 81, of the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. He and dozens of compatriots carried the Stars and Stripes. “We are proud of it,” Yee said. “We are American Chinese.”

Behind them were about 50 children and parents from Families With Children From China-Southern California, a 10-year-old organization making its first appearance in the parade. Three of the youngsters, all adoptees from China, ended up receiving an unexpected treat: riding in the same vintage vehicle (a convertible used by President Dwight D. Eisenhower) as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the grand marshal. The mayor, sporting a red-and-gold Chinese jacket, soon leaped out of the vehicle and proceeded to walk much of the parade route, crisscrossing the street to shake hands and pose for photos.

Lining the route were families of many races, and many of them were multiethnic. Spanish, Cantonese and Mandarin could be heard on the sidewalks. The crowd included many tourists, including a couple visiting from Denver. All seemed to be reveling in the taste of Chinese culture.

Jamie Fitzgerald, a newcomer to Los Angeles, was enjoying her first Chinatown parade.

“I’m from Hawaii,” she said, explaining that Hawaiians heartily celebrate Chinese New Year. “I just wanted to hear some firecrackers and see some dragons.”