Overall, a Bang-Up Fourth : Beaches, Parks, Parades Packed

Throngs of Orange County residents on Saturday celebrated the Fourth of July by flocking to county beaches, jockeying for prime spots at parks and parades, and crowding fireworks displays from Seal Beach to San Clemente.

The holiday celebrations went virtually unmarred, with few serious problems for local authorities. At some select beaches and parks favorite spots were gone long before noon and parking lots shut early as residents responded to the perfect weather and went out to party.

The 88th annual Independence Day parade in Huntington Beach led the festivities as an estimated 300,000 wildly waved flags amid a party-like atmosphere. Motorcycle teams performed stunts, clowns tumbled along the route and marching bands oom-pahed to the applause of spectators, who lined Main Street six-deep long before the 10 a.m. procession began.

Amid the flag-wavers were U.S. Sen. John Seymour (R-Calif) and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), both seeking reelection this fall.

After the two-hour-long parade, many spectators hit the beaches and already-crowded parks from La Habra to Laguna Niguel.

July 4th is easily the busiest day of the year for beaches and Saturday was no exception. Attendance was estimated at about 326,000--about one of every eight people in the county. Newport Beach headed the list with about 105,000 beach-goers. By mid-afternoon, police there were preparing to close off seafront streets crowded with celebrants. “I expect we’ll be rocking and rolling until 2 in the morning,” said Police Lt. Jim Carson.

At Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, rangers closed the overflowing parking lot at 11 a.m. as about 6,000 people jammed into the slim strip of beach along Pacific Coast Highway. “It’s a zoo,” said Tony Pardee, a park aide at Doheny.

And at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley, picnickers arrived before dawn, armed with flashlights to stake out tables and prime picnic spots.

Charles (Chili) Woods, 25, of Westminster said he and a few relatives arrived at the park at 5 a.m. to lay claim to a spot near an artificial duck pond. Others had arrived even before them.

“I couldn’t believe that people would get up so early for a picnic table. I’m glad we did,” Woods said.

The holiday crowd at Mile Square Park reflected the nation’s--and Orange County’s--changing ethnic diversity: Under a towering eucalyptus tree, a group of Vietnamese-born women ate fried rice, barbecued pork and rice cakes. A few feet away, a family of Mexican-Americans dished up carne asada while teen-agers strummed guitars and sang songs in Spanish. Nearby, sari-clad Indian women tapped their hands to the beat as they played cards.

“This is how the world should be every day,” commented Steven Nevels, a Fairfield resident who is visiting Fountain Valley.

A group of 200 new immigrants used the opportunity to celebrate their new-found freedom. In a corner of the park, a bare sign hanging from two eucalyptus trees read, “Chao Mung Dong Huong Banmethuot,” which in English simply means: “Welcome, People of Banmethuot,” a small town in southern Vietnam.

Emigres from there have created a new tradition around the Fourth of July celebration: gathering with friends from their old village.

Some of them used a microphone to share their experience. Jimmy Kay Pham, a 61-year-old former government administrator in Banmethuot, told about his flight to Texas in 1975. He later moved to Fountain Valley for the weather.

Pham, dressed in white slacks and a top hat emblazoned with red and blue stars and stripes, pranced around with the children, an Uncle Pham giving a nod to a better known Yankee Doodle Dandy.

At Newport Dunes Resort, thousands of people gathered to dance to country music broadcast live by KIK-FM, a country-and-Western station based in Orange.

“It’s fun teaching people how to step,” said Jim Martinez, 30, of Anaheim. “Everybody wants to learn the new dances . . . the Tush Push and the Achy Breaky. This is like one big dance class.”

Celebrants included about 250 children with life-threatening diseases, all treated to a party by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Times staff writers David Haldane and Eric Bailey contributed to this story.