Going Fourth and Multiplying

Anything goes--and went--in Sierra Madre’s Fourth of July parade, as Courtney Griffith, 2 1/2, saw from her vantage point astride her father, Wayne, as he marched with the Santa Anita Family YMCA.

Some of the bands on Sierra Madre Boulevard, such as Flailing Yak, directly below, seemed to have lifted a leaf from Doo-Dah’s book. This was especially true of its leader, a swaggering gent named Major Disaster.

Occasionally, marchers gave way to dancers. Puritans who found belly dancers Naryana (standing and gyrating) and April Swedo (bending and gyrating) hard to stomach could relax at the sight of the Pasadena Ballroom Dance Assn., whose members were right in step with the jolly spirit of the day.

Witness the smiles on parade spectators, watching Atsuko Koga riding a unicycle and a grin as she pushed Stephanie Gordon, 15 months, on a high-tech tricycle. This transportation theme was extended by an antique auto that sprung a kind of candy gasket, scattering showers of sweets.

Jennifer Schuck, however, leading a band in an exotic costume that glittered in the sun, was too busy to scramble for them.