1 Million Expected : Angelenos Take It to the Street Scene

The crowd at the “Sing Along Mini Recording Studio,” a tiny booth near the west end of the Street Scene, had grown to about 50. Amateur singer Richard Boyce, a young account service representative, was managing a not-too-shabby rendition of the old 1930s tune, “I Only Have Eyes for You.”

In fact, despite occasional warbles and screeches of feedback, it was a hit on Temple Street.

“You don’t see this too often,” one listener, Tony Aragon of Boyle Heights, whispered in the crowd. “He’s got a good voice.”

The number ended. Applause boomed. And Boyce nearly sprinted away through downtown Los Angeles, weaving through the Street Scene throngs, carrying his $10 cassette tape toward fame and glory.

“My head has swelled 10 sizes--it’s upset my center of gravity,” Boyce, 27, said. “I’m ready to tip over. I’m taking my tape to Columbia (Studios) tomorrow. You’ll be able to say, you knew me when. . . .”

It was Saturday morning. Los Angeles’ 9th annual Street Scene--a two-day celebration of the city’s cultural diversity--had just begun, and already the air was heavy with the music of such ensembles as UB 40 and International Show, the sales pitches of people eager to paint designs on faces or T-shirts, the clamor of carnival rides . . . and the scents of bratwurst and teriyaki chicken.

Brooks Treidler, assistant manager of the city’s General Services Department, which coordinates the 14-block festival of music, food and celebration, said the 1986 version of the event may be the biggest. More than 1 million visitors were expected to pour through downtown streets by the end tonight--at or slightly fewer than last year’s record crowds, but nearly five times as many as the inaugural event eight years ago.

The program, which will end at 10 tonight, is expected to showcase 350 performances on 19 stages and includes about 300 booths selling ethnic foods and handicrafts, and a parade from 9th and Broadway to Temple and Hope streets, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

“I’ve been doing this event for eight years, and every year it’s been bigger,” Treidler said, predicting relatively light early crowds would pick up as an intermittent sun began to re-emerge late Saturday afternoon. “Sunday’s crowds could be very strong.”

By the end of the first day, police said they found this year’s edition of the festival “unusually orderly.”

Police said they made only one arrest for public intoxication, and paramedics and Red Cross officials said they had fewer than 100 requests for first aid (cuts, bruises, scrapes and occasional cases of overeating).

Two men were arrested for assault on a police officer and police closed down two musical performances--in one case because spectators were “slam dancing,” and in the other because the audience was throwing water onstage, which shorted out the group’s equipment.

The day’s most serious outburst came at about 10 p.m., when one musical group failed to make a scheduled appearance, and disappointed fans began fighting and throwing missiles at the stage. Police moved in to break up the group--but were met with rocks and bottles.

Several people reported minor injuries, but police said there were no arrests.

There were also occasional fistfights and two arrests on suspicion of simple theft.

But the general atmosphere was one of festivity, and there were shouts of appreciation for Saturday night’s castillo--a firework display on a derrick-like structure, intended to resemble a castle.

Few who attended Saturday’s opening seemed fazed by the canceled performance of the popular New York rap group Run-D.M.C., removed from the program because of the crowd violence that has plagued its recent acts. Kevin Dixon, 22, of Huntington Beach, was one exception. Wandering the streets in his “Run-D.M.C., King of Rock” T-shirt, he arrived thinking he would see the group in action.

‘Violent Crowds Follow Them’

“I’m extremely disappointed,” he said. “It’s not the group that causes the violence--it’s the violent crowds that follow them.”

Others said the diversity of Saturday’s program was more than enough for devoted music lovers or people watchers. Bruce Becker, 33, a k a the “Balloon Man,” was selling $1 to $10 metallic inflatables at Temple and Main streets and enjoying his sixth successive Street Scene.

“I love the people,” Becker said. “The people are what make this city fun.”

Dressed in a bright striped clown suit and wearing a red ruff, Becker was one of what officials might have billed as Los Angeles characters on parade. That group would have included the shirtless man with tattooed shoulders and a red-feathered hat, the frizzy-topped blonde in pastel-swirl leotards and the Red Cross volunteer sporting six-inch spikes of two-toned hair.

There to Be Seen

Like Joe Mendoza, 13, of Los Angeles, they were there to be seen.

“People come to show their clothes, their style, the way they are,” said Mendoza, who sauntered through the area in green, spray-painted hair and a pair of face paintings. One, on his left cheek, was a blue-and-green, glitter-covered, fire-breathing dragon. On his right cheek, was a simpler design--a multicolored “twirl” that encircled his eye.

“It shows my image--being happy all the time,” Mendoza said. “I’ve been coming here since I was small, since I was about 4.”

Police Officer Reginald Gay found the crowd somewhat mellower than in previous years.

“More like a fashion show than anything,” he said, nodding in the direction of several young people with multi-hued hair.

Painted Faces and Hair

Painted faces and painted hair were just part of the visible artwork, a product of Steve Hannestad’s booth near the east end of the scene. Hannestad advertised his work with short locks of blue, orange and green. At prices of $1 a color, he predicted: “We’ll paint 2,000 to 3,000 people today--easy. We’d better. We bought almost 3,000 cans of paint.”

Dino Spells, 57, of Hollywood, said he has spent a lifetime playing guitar, violin, piano and saxophone, and touring with musicians like Big Joe Turner, Lionel Hampton and T-Bone Walker. He once, at age 14, played the clarinet on the street cars of St. Louis, Spells said.

But, until he plugged in his amplifier Saturday outside the “A Taste of Soul” food stand, he had never seen anything quite like the Street Scene.

“It’s a fascinating thing,” he said. “I love the crowds.”

Families attending the festival said they were undaunted by the large crowds and concert fans. “Nothing scares me,” said Cricket Reynolds, 30, of Lakewood, who helped her 6-year-old daughter, Amber, paint “L.A. Street Scene” on a T-shirt laid out on the lawn of City Hall. “I’m not leaving until 8:30--until after the fireworks.”

Enjoy the Food, Rhythms

Donna Morena, 23, who was trying to get her 3-year-old nephew to jump inside a 40-foot, inflated Snow White’s castle at a carnival set up for families and children, said she was there to show little Ricky Perez Jr. a good time, to enjoy hot dogs and Chinese food, and to enjoy the reggae rhythms of UB 40.

“This is my third year,” she said, downplaying the sartorial effects of her painted pink hair and multicolored Hawaiian shorts. “You get to meet people and have a good time.”

But not everyone was enthusiastic.

“Some of this,” said Donald Ford, 24, of Rialto, who came to the event with his wife and 10-month-old son, “is a little abstract to make it a family oriented gathering. There’s wild shows . . . the women are overexposed.”

And Gloria Escobar, attending her second Street Scene with her husband and three small children, was downright reluctant.

“I didn’t want to come,” she said, “but my husband wanted to come and that’s why we’re here . . . a lot of people get drunk and start acting crazy. Hopefully, it will be the last time I’ll bring my children.”

Contributing were Times staff writers Greg Braxton, Sandra L. Crockett, Lily Eng, Hector Guttierez, Lionel Sanchez and Ted Thackrey Jr.