Tykes on Trikes : Only Protests at Rose Bud Parade Came From Tots in Wet Diapers

Finally, a parade that Pasadena could get in step with.

None of the raunchy rowdiness of the Doo Dah Parade. None of the denunciations of discrimination against the Rose Parade.

The only squealing and squalling Saturday came from the participants in the Rose Bud Parade--where children got to decorate their bikes and skateboards and march down Lake Avenue as adults cheered them on.

“It’s good that there’s at least one parade that has no controversy,” laughed local restaurant owner Mike Lazarotta as he watched son Trevor and neighbor Max Bole, both 3, hang flowers and balloons on tricycles.

Said Carol McTear of Los Angeles, whose twin year-old sons Jamael and Jamarius were aboard a blossom-bedecked baby buggy: “At least we have one parade where everyone can have fun.”

Past Doo Dah parades in Pasadena have been marred by unruly crowds that have tossed hardened tortillas and other objects at marchers. When this year’s 16th annual event was staged last weekend, its size was reduced and its silliness restrained.

The Rose Parade has been hammered this year by criticism that its executive committee is racist and sexist because all of its members are white men. After one black group threatened to obstruct the upcoming New Year’s Day spectacle, officials agreed last week to add two African Americans, a Latino, an Asian American woman and a white woman to the 107-year-old Tournament of Roses committee.

Except for a few tots more interested in eating the flowers than gluing them onto their Big Wheels, there was no dissent at the sixth annual Rose Bud Parade.

“The only problem here is wet diapers,” said lawyer Edward Garlock--whose daughter Evan and friend Jenny Lamb, both 2, were riding in a decorated wagon. “And that’s fine--the Doo Dah Parade this year was too regimented. And after 100 years, the Rose Parade is like barnacles.”

The Rose Bud Parade was sponsored by Pasadena’s Kidspace Museum. Grand marshals were the Aladdin and Jasmine characters from Disneyland. Its king and queen--picked from participants’ names drawn from a hat--were 9-month-old Jack Simcken of San Marino and 9-year-old Alexandra Taylor of Bel-Air.

One of the day’s few protests came from the king. He squalled when the king-size crown placed on his tiny head during a pre-parade ceremony slipped over his face and scared him.

There were also squeals of delight from some of the other 450 young marchers who excitedly decorated themselves along with their floats--an assortment of scooters, trikes and bikes.

“I go to the Rose Parade every year, but I like this parade better,” said Ashlee Bailey-Powell, 9, of Altadena, who carried a decorated cardboard box and wore flowers in her hair and clown paint on her face. “That’s because I can march in this one.”

Saturday’s parade was also enjoyed by grown-ups who have grown weary of the infighting at the other two parades.

“There’s no political agenda here,” said Paul Anderson, an attorney who was there with his 10-month-old son, Henry.

Bill Flinn, associate executive director of the Tournament of Roses, marched alongside his children, Meredith, 5, and 2 1/2-year-old Derek.

He said he is hopeful that the Rose Parade has also hit its stride.

“It’s certainly challenging,” Flinn said. “But we’re trying to rise to the occasion and do what’s right.”