Hansen: Laguna parade getting tired at 50?

When the 1931 Seagrave Suburbanite pumper died, I tried not to take it as a sign.

The old red firetruck stalled during Saturday’s parade while it was waiting to turn onto Forest Avenue and had to be pushed into the US Bank parking lot.

Eugene “Diz” D’Isabella, its venerable captain, knew he could get it started again with a shot of ether — as he had done many times before — but his can was empty. A colleague was supposed to double check the supply, apparently, but did not.

D’Isabella pursed his lips and put his hands on his hips as he told the story, clearly annoyed.

It was the Patriots Day Parade, after all.

But no one seemed too disappointed. This year’s parade was forgiving like that. The crowds were thin yet devoted. Attendance, in fact, was surprisingly light — for no real reason.

The weather was fine, nice in fact. There was no major calendar conflict. The surf was up, but that should not have affected the crowds too much.

Plus, it was the 50th anniversary of the event, which on paper should have attracted more excitement and people.

It was peculiar.

Even if we assume the parade is too local to attract outsiders, there are more than 20,000 people in Laguna Beach. For residents, has the parade just become another parking problem to avoid?

Is it too predictable, as in been there, done that?

A similar indifference seems to have hit Hospitality Night, which has slowly but consistently dropped in attendance the last few years.

There’s nothing wrong with these events per se. In fact, Saturday was quite enjoyable.

I think, among other things, that it’s just another example of the diminishing number of families in Laguna. Let’s face it, parades and kids are like peanut butter and jelly.

And with the limited number of student bands, we have to bus in our school spirit — and diversity, by the way.

It’s clear residents are choosing to stay home.

If we were to prioritize these events, get more big names and advertise broadly, would that help?

With all due respect to this year’s lineup, it was a decidedly homespun affair. That hasn’t always been the case.

Last year was Olympic gold medal swimmer Janet Evans — a Laguna resident but obviously a brand name. In 1975, the grand marshal was beloved radio personality Charlie Tuna. The year before that was the kids from “The Waltons.” And the very first grand marshals in 1967 were Walter and Cordelia Knott, founders of Knott’s Berry Farm.

What happens if the attendance continues to drop? At what point will organizers recognize that maybe there’s a problem?

Could we make some reasonable changes and perhaps instill a little more interest from the community?

I think so.

First of all, tell the parade entrants that they can’t trot out the same decorations or shtick every year. Some groups are already good about doing this but not all.

And do we need the cowboys rupturing everyone’s eardrums with their guns every year?

Seriously, the children do not like the loud guns. I don’t either and, frankly, in this day and age with the sensitivity over mass shootings, there’s no reason to have them.

It’s nice to have regional groups participate in the parade. We could probably add more without jeopardizing the hometown feel. Why not invite more of our South County and coastal cities?

The existing Laguna groups should come out of the woodwork as well. I know more people want to get their parade on. And if you’re wondering where the Coastline Pilot was this year, we flaked. I know. I could make excuses but I won’t. We dropped the ball.

It’s undeniable that a community parade is a lot of effort for very little return — I get that — but we’ve been doing this for 50 years. Maybe we can raise the bar for the next 50.

And I promise I’ll lead the charge with my Mark Twain outfit.

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DAVID HANSEN is a writer and Laguna Beach resident. He can be reached at hansen.dave@gmail.com.