Korean Community Puts Goodwill on Parade : Festival: In a celebration of cultures, cowboys and a Tae Kwon Do class share the Garden Grove route. Gov. Wilson serves as grand marshal.

On a sun-splashed boulevard lined with fluttering Korean and American flags, C. J. Edwards’ smile nearly circled her head.

For years, at home in Victorville, she had read notices in Korean language newspapers about the warmth generated by Orange County’s Korean parades and festivals, and she was not about to let the 10th pass without her.

“It’s just very nice to see Americans and Koreans getting along so well together,” the beaming 38-year-old woman said from her front-row position on the Garden Grove Boulevard parade line. “Look at these kids. It’s a good feeling I have. It’s good to be here.”

For the Korean community in Garden Grove and in Orange County, it was a day for a celebration of culture and goodwill, where cowboys on horseback shared the parade route with an enthusiastic Tae Kwon Do class, and where clowns found their place among a motorcade of politicians.

Not lost among them was Gov. Pete Wilson, who, as parade grand marshal, received a polite but restrained ovation from the crowd as he bobbed down the route on a float he shared with youngsters in traditional cultural dress.

“This is a celebration of a fact that people can come together in harmony,” the governor said as prepared for the one-mile ride. “This was an invitation that I willingly accepted because it is sponsored by good and hard-working people, some of whom have only been in this country a short while. This is a celebration of their hard work.”

The annual parade traditionally is a highlight in the weekend-long schedule of activities, which conclude today. Event sponsors said they hoped to draw a total of 100,000 to the parade and festival during the three days of activities.

By 3 p.m. Saturday, thousands of people had arranged lawn chairs or claimed curbs to watch the main event. The units included the standard high school bands, drill teams and motorcycle stunt riders, but scattered among them were brightly decorated floats, some representing the many Korean-owned businesses in the community.

Back in the parade formation area, Kang Lee was preparing his youthful Tae Kwon Do class of 45 youngsters for their march.

“I think they are very excited,” Lee said. “They are happy to be here.”

Earlier in the afternoon, Lee stunned some festival-goers and his own charges with an exhibition of his skills. In a lightning-fast roundhouse kick, he plucked an apple off the head of a fellow instructor. The instructor was untouched, but the apple suffered greatly.

“It took me a long time to learn that,” Lee said.

Just ahead of the marshal arts class, Patricia Williams was making ready the Cowgirls Drill Team and Drum squad from Pasadena. The Garden Grove appearance was to be the group’s second parade of the day. The 33-member unit had rushed from Glendale late that morning. In the time crunch, Williams said she couldn’t even remember the occasion of the earlier event.

“It’s been a long day already,” said Williams as she supervised the drum squad.

But on the boulevard, no one seemed to know the difference. Neither the dance team nor the drum squad seemed to miss a beat. And Alex Ko and his 16-month-old son, Gregory, were content to take it all in.

“It’s great,” Ko said, clutching his son. “It gets better each year. I think there is better communication these days and that brings the people.”

With throngs of people came appetites, and hawkers enticed the familiar and uninitiated to sample delicacies that included dried seaweed and fried squid.

Joe Soto, 42, who operates a nearby business was one of the many who trooped from booth to booth.

“The food is just delicious,” he said, a trace of barbecue sauce left on his chin. “I tried the pork and squid. I never thought I would eat squid.”