Celebrities Add to Flavor of Strawberry Parade

By 10 a.m. Saturday, all the ingredients of a parade had begun to gather near the intersection of 9th Street and Chapman Avenue.

Hollywood celebrities rubbed elbows with dignitaries. Marching bands bumped up against floats. And cowboys and cowgirls, horses and medieval knights, clowns, antique cars and Snoopy all jostled for their place in line.

Half an hour later, the city’s 31st annual Strawberry Festival Parade was under way.

“I would never think of missing the parade,” said Phil Wright, 42, of Long Beach. “I’ve been coming to see the parade since I was 12, when I came with my parents.”

Wright said he had to do some switching at work in order to make it this year. “I’ll be working the night shift tonight,” he said. “But I have no regrets.”

Similarly, Riverside resident Albert Gomez said he has been making the parade a habit for more than 10 years. Gomez was accompanied by his wife, Natalie, 35, and his four children, Jess, 5, Tony, 8, Teresa, 10, and Jose, 13.

“My kids really enjoy watching the horses and floats,” he said, as Tony and Jess pointed to a knight from Buena Park’s Medieval Times. “We got here about 7:30 this morning, and were able to get a good spot. Which is another big reason why I like this parade. The parking isn’t really that bad.”

The Strawberry Festival Parade is one of the highlights of the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival, which began in 1957 as a celebration of Garden Grove’s strawberry industry. Although strawberries in Garden Grove have pretty much taken the same course as other dwindling Orange County crops, the parade and festival still manage to celebrate the red berry in spirit. The festival concludes Monday with the annual Redhead Roundup contest.

Ben Vereen, the parade’s grand marshal, said he was excited about participating in the event.

“I love parades,” he said minutes before the event began. “I mean, just look at all the faces, especially the children. There’s so much warmth and wonder here.”

Vereen, who spoke the night before to a group of Garden Grove parents as part of Celebrities for a Drug-Free America, was certain that he wouldn’t be able to remain holed up in the back seat of his 1953 Packard during the parade.

“I just can’t sit with all this energy around me,” he said. “Look around. There’s knights and cowboys and marching bands. I can’t stay seated. I’ve got to get out and walk and talk to the people watching the parade.”

Besides Vereen, other celebrities appearing at the parade included actor Glynn Turman, from “A Different World,” and Billy Barty and Stephen Dorff from “Father Dowling Mysteries.” Brian Green from “Knott’s Landing,” Marlon Archey, who stars in “Major Dad” and the Los Angeles Rams Cheerleaders rounded out the celebrity rolls.

Local politicians who were in the parade included Orange County Supervisors Harriett M. Wieder and Roger R. Stanton. They were joined by Assembly members Doris Allen (R-Cypress) and Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) and Garden Grove Mayor W.E. (Walt) Donovan, who sported a strawberry-red tie.

While most people had gathered to see the parade, a few had come for other reasons.

Faith Holden and Lauren Murphy, both 12, were bouncing from one celebrity to another before the parade began. “We came for the autographs” said Holden, glancing back and forth to see which celeb may be next. Already the two had gathered five signatures, but their primary target was “Knott’s Landing’s” Brian Green.

Harold Stephens, 5, of Fullerton, was not particularly excited by the celebrities, the politicians, the floats or the marching bands.

“I want to see Snoopy,” he said.