Flags and Floats at Holiday Parade

If it could be inflated, waved in the air or eaten at the seventh annual Oxnard Christmas parade Saturday, chances were that vendor Larry Traba had the item on his well-stocked pushcart.

Pink or blue cotton candy? The burly concessionaire nodded and said he had the treat. Candy apples? Of course. What would a parade be without the gooey, nut-covered fruit, he asked with a smile.

Traba said business was brisk for red balloons and American flags but less so for other items offered during the city’s Downtown Hometown Holidays Parade.

“No one’s buying the party streamers,” said Traba, a Sylmar resident who works as a machinist.

As he thumbed through a box loaded with canisters of streamers--sticky string material that shoots into the air with the press of a button--Traba said sales of the festive toy had been hampered by negative publicity.

“We used to sell out, but I guess people saw a TV report that said they are dangerous,” he said.

However, Traba said flag sales were making up for the loss.

Small plastic versions of Old Glory were selling fast--no surprise to Traba and other vendors.

Like many other public events across the country, the small holiday parade, featuring floats and marching bands, was steeped in patriotism in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Nearly all of the 83 parade entries, which traveled on C Street in the heart of the city, included an American flag. Parade officials felt so strongly about honoring the heroes and victims of the attacks that city firefighters and police officers were designated co-grand marshals.

Until the terrorist attacks, parade officials had been considering a list of potential celebrity grand marshals, including actor Ted Danson, his wife, actress Mary Steenburgen, and figure skater Scott Hamilton.

“We named [police and firefighters] for all the work they do, and not just in New York City but in Oxnard, too,” said Carol Lavender of the Oxnard Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Officials said nearly 4,000 people attended the parade, which started at 10 a.m. and ended a couple of hours later at Plaza Park.

The event began with motorcycle officers cruising the parade route, followed by 16 city firefighters who walked and carried a large American flag.

Residents sipped hot coffee and cocoa to stave off chills from the 55-degree weather. The parade route was peppered with people waving flags at entries.

“I’m trying to forget what happened in New York. That’s why I’m here,” said Salvador Munten, 70, a Korean War veteran from Port Hueneme.

As he watched a Cub Scout troop march by, Munten said: “I’m thinking about my family and being alive and I pray to God that we are all safe.”

Political leaders waved at residents from inside cars and trucks decorated with red and green Christmas colors, as well as plenty of red, white and blue.

Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez shouted holiday greetings from the passenger seat of a vintage firetruck, while county Supervisor John Flynn did the same from the back seat of a convertible Mercedes-Benz.

A float made by organizers of the California Strawberry Festival featured a disc jockey dressed as a strawberry. Standing behind a stack of turntables and amps, he spun a version of “Joy to the World” mixed with the beat of the hit song “Macarena.”

Not to be outdone, Javier Hernandez, a server at Hometown Buffet in Oxnard, traded his work uniform for a green and gold bumblebee outfit that acts as the restaurant’s mascot, H.T. Bee.

Sweating and breathing hard as he finished walking the route, Hernandez had nothing to say. When H.T. Bee makes a public appearance, said restaurant representative Lani Keener, he isn’t allowed to speak.

“Bees don’t talk,” Keener said after the green-headed mascot walked away. “He has to keep the head on at all times.”

Meanwhile, Traba, the vendor, said he planned to pack up his food and wares late Saturday and head to Granada Hills, where a larger holiday parade is scheduled today. Traba plans to sell at parades throughout the holiday season, including the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day.

“This is a small parade but that’s OK,” Traba said. “It’s a lot of fun watching the kids smile. You just know they want to buy something.”