Seal Beach Parade Brings Out Bonnets : Not Eggs-actly on Easter

Almost 2,000 people, many in bonnets and costumes, flocked to downtown Seal Beach Sunday for an early Easter parade and Easter egg hunt.

The parade wound its way up Main Street from Ocean Avenue to Pacific Coast Highway with vehicles that included a horse-drawn carriage, horseless carriages, classic cars, a few sleek new convertibles and Joe Cota’s red 1940 Simplex motorcycle.

Mayor Oscar Brownell and members of the City Council rode in Seal Beach’s first fire engine, built in 1919 by American La France.

The unofficial theme of the parade seemed to be the good old days, and many participants wore costumes appropriate to their antiquated vehicles. Capt. Todd Perrin, who led the crew of firefighters, was in an old-fashioned cap, his trousers held up by wide black suspenders.

The parade, sponsored by the Old Town Merchants’ Assn., was led by “grand marshalettes” Emily Frazier and Daisy Funk, clad in bonnets and long gowns. They were leaders of the Save Our Pier group that spearheaded the rebuilding of the Seal Beach Pier, which was reopened in January.

And, of course, there were clowns and balloons and more clowns and more balloons, and many Easter bunnies and bonnets.

Following the parade, hundreds of children and their parents gathered in front of the Red Car Museum, an old Pacific Electric car now used by the Seal Beach Historical Society. Several of the youngsters received awards for their entries in an egg-decorating contest last week.

Then it was on to the Easter egg hunt on the greenbelt, where 20 dozen hard-boiled eggs and thousands of pieces of candy lay waiting. And, egged on by their parents, it didn’t take the children long to find the brightly colored favors.