Simi Valley’s Residents See a Lot of Themselves in Annual Parade

If civic pride is measured by how many residents will turn out on a bright weekend morning to cheer for their neighbors, this city is bursting with it.

Thousands of residents lined Los Angeles Avenue on Saturday to applaud the annual Simi Valley Days Parade, which honored eight “Community Heroes.”

More than 150 parade entries featuring about 4,500 participants--many on foot and others riding in shiny cars and decorated flatbed trucks--began their trip at 9 a.m. sharp.

Led by the Simi Valley High School marching band, the long convoy included equestrians, community leaders, firefighters, stunt bikers, belly dancers, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and others--all waving and putting on their best smiles.

Residents looked on from curbside, some positioning themselves early to grab a shady vantage point. Others used the closed-off westbound lane of Los Angeles Avenue to bike and roller blade.

Pat Owens and Lou Tignal rode their bikes to the festival for practical reasons.

“We don’t wait for the parade to come to us,” said Owens, 46, who has attended Simi Valley Days festivities since 1968.

“If there’s a good band, we’ll go back a couple times to hear them,” said Tignal, 56, another longtime Simi Valley resident.

Paul Flath and his daughter, Gina Hardy, also have watched the parade and the city grow up over the years. Each year the Flath clan, which now includes Hardy’s two young children, secure a spot in front of the family’s feed and tack store on Los Angeles Avenue.

Hardy, 29, echoed a roots-like sentiment as she watched the parade roll by.

“When you think about how many faces you recognize in the parade, you realize Simi Valley has kept its small-town atmosphere.”

“When we first came here, the population was less than 40,000,” said Flath, 63. “And even though there’s a lot more people now, this parade always reminds you it’s still our hometown.”

Many adults in the crowd had children in tow--whether riding in strollers, clutched tightly by the hand or piggyback on dad’s shoulders. A favorite parade attraction with the youngsters proved to be an entry by the Raptor Rehabilitation and Release Program, a wildlife care center.

Among hay bales and bushy trees on the back of a large flatbed truck, caretakers held giant python snakes, eagles, hawks, a baby alligator and a black wolf.

But for Jason Cole, the parade highlight came in the form of two Dodger baseball cards given to him by a police officer doing a little community PR.

“The parade is pretty cool,” said the 9-year-old, who was at the parade with his mother, Marie. “He didn’t have a Mike Piazza card, but I didn’t expect to get any Dodger cards today, so that’s cool, too.”

The equestrians included a trio of mounts from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. Trailing behind the officers on horseback, Boy Scout Kareem Jubran and assistant Scoutmaster Mike Schmitz waited for duty to call.

Their job: to clean up after the horses and withstand playful ribbing from the crowd.

“Oh, yeah, they cheer a lot. They cheer on the horses and then laugh at us,” Schmitz said. Soon the two members of Troop 687, pushing a green wheelbarrow, came to a halt.

“He’s driving; I’m shoveling,” said Schmitz.

The sounds of the parade were as varied as the sights and the smells. Music of all sorts boomed from the procession--hip-hop, ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll, western-flavored tunes, surf music, marching bands and the like. And heard above it all were the sirens, honks and alarms of numerous Ventura County Fire Department trucks.

“I think if it happens in Simi Valley, it’s happening in this parade,” said Barbara Whitcomb, 26, watching with her father, Stephen.

Police Officer David Del Marto said this year’s parade-watchers were especially well-behaved. In previous years, he said, officers could always count on breaking up a scuffle or two as people jockeyed for a clear sightline or a shady spot.

“Smooth as can be this time around,” Del Marto said.

However, the morning didn’t exactly go without incident.

The volunteers who run the Sycamore BMX Raceway decided to stage a kind of all-in-good-fun protest during the parade. Their beef? They want to erect lights at the bicycle track so riders can pedal after nightfall. They must first receive permission from the parks and recreation department, raceway volunteer Jeff Cook said.

Parks and rec officials rode in electric golf carts during the parade, “and we decided to hold up a couple signs when they drove by to remind them we’re still here,” Cook said. “It seems to have worked. They invited us to one of their meetings.”

The Sycamore bikers put on an entertaining show during the parade. Outfitted in helmets and colorful protective racing gear, the daredevils hopped over wagons, hand-held banners--and comic foil Jim Curry.

An energetic Curry, 42, knelt down repeatedly along the two-mile route to coax and dare speeding bikers to hop over him, eliciting whoops and gasps from the crowd. A few visible tread marks on his white T-shirt proved that the bikers did not clear their mark every time.

“And I’m volunteering!” shouted Curry.

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Community Heroes

Simi Valley residents were invited to vote for their “Community Heroes.” The honorees, listed below, were feted during the parade and rode down the procession on a flatbed festooned with banners.

* Det. Kathy Shatz (Simi Valley Police Officer of the Year)

* Christine McKinley (community volunteer)

* Jere Sinclair (community volunteer)

* Carol Thompson (Rancho Simi Parks and Recreation Department Jazzercise instructor)

* Jo Gee(Senior Citizen Volunteer of the Year)

* Rebecca Sansom (Simi Valley High School Key Club president)

* Dominique Gardello (Royal High School Key Club president)

* Chick Fidel (retired science teacher at Valley View Junior High School)

* Chris Haseley (winner of the 1996 parade theme contest)

Fair Schedule

Simi Valley Day festivities will continue today with the following activities:

* 5K and 10K Run (6:30 a.m.)

* Carnival hours: noon to 10 p.m.

* Rodeo: 2-4 p.m.

Festival grounds are at the corner of Madera Road and Los Angeles Avenue. A $5 entrance fee includes carnival activities and entertainment. For more information, call 581-4280.

Grand finale festivities will be held from 6 p.m. to midnight Saturday at Strathearn Historical Park.