Canoga Park Celebrates Memorial Day! Part II!

By Quilt staff.

DATELINE: PATRIOTICICITY!

Our continuing coverage of the Canoga Park 26th Annual Memorial Day Parade continues!

"When I am an old woman I shall wear purple with a red hat that doesn't go and doesn't

suit me." — Jenny Joseph.  Let's hear it for the ladies of our local Red Hat Society! 

Well, we think the red & purple suit 'em just fine.

The highway patrol's here to keep an eye on things as we, the spectators
and Quilt subscribers, keep an eye on this wonderfully vintage vehicle.

Here's Corinne Ho, president of the Canoga Park Friendly Neighborhood Council as well as
the head of a task force organized to curb unsafe smartphone use while riding in parades.

Family remembers Cpl. William I. Salazar, a Marine cameraman
who died in October 2004 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The "exclusive" West Hills Neighborhood Council insisted on a truck with high sides for "safety."
"It's just like going to Lion Country Safari," said Council President Bob Rawlins before slapping
the side of the truck, a signal to the driver to speed up because of the threat of danger, in this case,
an exuberant six-year-old excitedly shaking an inflatable Spider-Man toy at the passing vehicle.

If this were a statue, a horse with one front leg in the air and 

one back leg in the air would symbolize that the rider has about

had it with all the noise from those goddamn vuvuzuelas. 

Did You Know?™ For this, the parade's 26th year, the theme "Saluting the Cost of Freedom" was chosen from over 14 different suggestions.

"Oh, yeah, there was 'Honoring Those Who Served,' 'A Tribute To Our Veterans,' 'Canoga Park Remembers,' 'Freedom Isn't Free,' and a bunch of others," says Murla Havemeyer, head of Parade Organizement for the Canoga Park Friendly Neighborhood Council. "Lots of 'Honoring' and 'Remembering' and, uh, I think 'Freedom' came up in a lot of them, too. It's kind of hard to get away from some of those words, but then, you really don't want to. I mean, it's a Memorial Day parade, for God's sake."

Eventually a committee whittled it down to "something in the area" of what was ultimately used. 

But, notes Havemeyer, it wasn't easy: "A few of our members really went around and around on it for a while. This one insisted on 'the cost of freedom,' someone else — I think it was Jim — wanted 'the price of freedom.' Neither side would budge. Finally Coco's was closing and we had to figure out something. So we flipped a coin."

The Lions Eyemobile was at the parade, tossing out free eyes to eager children, many of
whom were blind, could not find them, and were subsequently run over by old-timey cars.

These old-timey cards had many spectators doing double-takes, thinking they'd been transported
back in time to the early 2000s, when a number of old-timey cars were in the parade as well.

The real Ronald McDonald points to the body of an unseen impostor lying across the
floor in the backseat after triumphantly having ripped his arm off, making a subtle but clear
point about the consequences of impersonating the world's most beloved (and powerful) clown.

The Taft High School Marching band included the hardest-working cello player in the parade (and

the only cello player in the parade), who spent more time running with his folding chair than playing.

Uncle Sam was a big hit with the crowd, running back & forth
from one side of the street to the other, with high-fives for all.

It's one of those awesome little miniature horses, just like from that episode of
Huell Howser — you know, the one with the miniature horses.  It's amazing!

Oh, there's more! Click on them all — that is, unless you hate America!

Memorial Day Coverage Part I

Memorial Day Coverage Part III

Memorial Day Coverage Part IV