WILD Festival, if Not Wildly Popular, Still Offers Much to Do

The holiday weekend festival at the Civic Center square in Westminster was billed as something WILD--the acronym for the Westminster International Labor Day Festival. It was something a little less than that--more people went to the beach or stayed home barbecuing, depriving WILD of the sensational crowds sponsors had sought. But those who showed up for the event--which featured the music of many cultures, carnival rides, game booths, arts and crafts, and international foods--didn’t seem to mind.

Evelyn Fiske of Garden Grove said she had had so much fun on Sunday with her 2-year-old granddaughter that she came back Monday with her grandsons, 11 and 10.

The festival’s theme was “United Together in Celebration,” and it was dedicated to the international communities of Orange County. The entertainment included Hawaiian, Vietnamese, Armenian, Mexican, Russian, Korean, Irish, Afro-Caribbean, country and bluegrass music. There also were some 50 barbershop quartet singers, square dancers, ballet dancers, clog and folk dancers.

The biggest hit Saturday night may have been the Afro-Carribean Dance Revue, a reggae band. The Andy Rau Bluegrass Band drew a small but jubilant crowd Monday.

Police said they were pleased that there was none of the trouble that sometimes accompanies street festivals. And traffic was not a problem.

“It was a pleasant day, and the people who did come seemed to be glad they did,” said one police officer on the scene.