No Rain on Swallows Week Parade : Celebration: Skies clear just in time for the annual festivities. An estimated 8,000 spectators cheer 159 groups in the procession.

One of Jennifer Orr’s tuba valves fell out just as she was approaching the judges’ stand, but she played every note she could and marched on with Perris High School to win first place for best band in the Swallows Week Parade on Saturday.

Despite morning showers that started and stopped, the skies cleared half an hour before the 34th annual parade started, and it proceeded without a hitch. About 8,000 people looked on, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The largest non-motorized parade in the country, it traditionally steps off the Saturday after St. Joseph’s Day and caps a week of activities that mark the springtime return of the city’s famed cliff swallows.

“This parade is to welcome back the swallows and to keep alive the Western heritage of this area,” said Anita Adkisson, president of the Fiesta Assn., which organized the parade.

Adkisson, parade participants and many in the crowd were decked out in Western outfits, either as cowboys, Indians, or Spanish- and Mexican-Americans.

The festivities drew many of the area’s residents, as well as many who had moved away.

“I’ve been going to the parades since 1961 when I lived here,” said Jana Madden of Oceanside, who was with her two sons and husband. “I guess it’s just a tradition.”

Nancy Alejo, Heather Munson and Cynthia Duarte, all of Marco Forster Junior High School in San Juan Capistrano, said they came to check out the guys and agreed that Capistrano Valley High School had “some really cute ones.”

The parade began with the Long Beach Mounted Police, who rode golden palominos on sterling silver saddles. Next came the 42-member Marine Corps band from Camp Pendleton, who missed the last parade because of the Gulf War.

Little Leagues, Brownie troops, high school bands and charity organizations were among the 159 groups that participated in the almost 1 1/2-mile march that snaked through the historic downtown area, where several buildings remain from the oldest county settlement.

“I love marching in the parades,” said ROTC Cmdr. Dan Libby of Hesperia High School. “I love to be able to carry the flag to represent our country.”

A big favorite among the crowd were the famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses, at least six feet tall and 2,000 pounds each, who were appearing for the first time.

Riding in the historical society’s carriage were the city’s matriarch and patriarch, Evelyne Villegas Lobo and Paul Arbiso. Among the oldest native-born residents of the community, Lobo is a Juaneno Indian and Arbiso is the official mission bell ringer.