Awash in Enthusiasm at Parade

A steady drizzle Saturday may have dampened spectators at the Conejo Valley Days parade, but it could not douse the enthusiasm of those who stuck around.

An estimated 1,600 people gathered just before the parade’s 9 a.m. start under dark skies, and the crowd grew to a peak of about 3,000 before intermittent showers scared off some viewers, said Senior Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Galante.

“It’s as big this year as it ever is,” he said of the attendance. “I’m surprised that this many people turned out in the rain.”

Rainfall amounts were modest, ranging from 0.04 of an inch in Thousand Oaks to a little less than an inch at Matilija Dam in the Upper Ojai.

Ventura County is expected to experience a respite from wet weather today--the final go-round of Conejo Valley Days--before the possibility of precipitation returns Monday, said John Sherwin, a meteorologist for WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

Sherwin expects highs today ranging from the mid-60s at the beaches to the low 70s inland.

“Sunday looks like the driest day through Wednesday,” Sherwin said, blaming the gloomy outlook on an upper-level storm drifting aimlessly off the coast. “It doesn’t know what to do with itself, and sometimes these storms have a mind of their own.”

The same could be said Saturday for the loyal souls in Thousand Oaks who endured the distinctly un-Southern California weather to watch the 120 entries in the 2 1/2-hour parade.

In a community where the wildest antics are usually confined to the weekly City Council meetings, Shawn Lafferty cut a zany figure as he bopped up and down on the sidewalk to the rhythm of marching bands while wearing a plastic bag on his head to fend off the rain.

Never mind the weather--Lafferty was celebrating his family’s return two months ago to the town where he was raised. His clan had spent the last seven years living in the mountains near Yosemite National Park.

“This is home, this is it,” Lafferty said giddily between episodes of squirting Crazy String at his wife and three children. “They say, ‘Dad, if you ever grow up, we won’t like you.’ ”

Also doing his best to defer responsible adulthood was spectator Jim Bell, who brandished a large, furry green frog on the end of a pole while awaiting the appearance of daughter Becky, a flute player in the Los Cerritos Marching Band.

“She likes frogs, she likes green, so we brought it out to cheer her on,” he said.

“We’re going to yell and scream really loud and really get her embarrassed,” said Laura Black, the mother of Becky’s best friend and seventh-grade classmate, Michelle.

Next to those folks, 78-year-old great-grandmother Virginia Carr--clad head to toe in black leather--looked positively sedate.

“I’ve been in Thousand Oaks since 1963 and I’m enthusiastic about Thousand Oaks, period,” she said while bouncing to one of the 13 marching bands. “Thousand Oaks is a great little town.”

For the hundreds of spectators who went AWOL Saturday, the parade will be broadcast four times later this month on public access television--Channel 8--throughout the Conejo Valley from Calabasas east, as well as in Moorpark, Fillmore, Santa Paula, Piru and parts of Camarillo. Broadcast times are 7 p.m. Saturday and May 11, 16 and 18.

Conejo Valley Days resumes at noon today at Conejo Creek Park, located at California 23 and Janss Road.

Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for students and seniors, and $3 for children ages 6 to 12.