Stars of Toy Parade Rise to the Occasion

Winking one eye and sucking on his ever present pipe, Popeye the sailor was one of the big--BIG--hits of Santa Ana’s “Toys on Parade” Saturday.

But it depended on your point of view.

Christopher Griffith, 5, saw the 65-foot-high version of the surly-looking strongman from a different perspective as he, his younger brother and two cousins watched workers deflate the giant helium-filled balloons from the sidelines.

For the youngster, the view away from the crowd--estimated at more than 100,000--wasn’t as good as watching the cartoon character on television.

“TV is better because they’re (spectators) not squished,” the young boy explained.

Amid cries of “I can’t see” from small children, young and old alike squeezed in for a closer view of the bands, floats and animals that lined the parade route around crowded downtown Santa Ana.

Much easier to view were the stars of the parade: eight giant balloon figures, including Lamb Chop, K-9 and Big Al Alligator, similar to those featured in Macy’s Thanksgiving parade in New York City.

Bob Kemp, owner of Kemp Balloons in Glen Burnie, Md., began inflating his balloons downtown at 5:30 a.m. Saturday--”You start with the head, then you inflate the body, then the legs and they stand up”--to prepare for the only parade on the West Coast that includes such massive balloons.

With directions to volunteers--”Lay him on his back . . . now stand him, stand him up . . . put him on his belly, his belly”--Kemp instructed volunteers to deflate the balloons. Although it was hard work, there was still fun to be had, at least for the six teen-agers who occasionally sucked in helium to speak temporarily in squeaky-high Donald Duck voices.

Standing near the corner of Civic Center Drive and Main Street, Don Reid, a bus driver who brought the Fullerton High School Band to the parade, contemplated other matters with another spectator, Carol L. Lorente.

“They’re sedated, aren’t they?” Lorente asked as elephants marched in the parade.

“They have to be,” Reid answered her. “Can you imagine those things rampaging through the crowd? It’d be a disaster.”

Tustin resident Bob Fainbarg, who carried his 3-year-old son, Nicholas, perched atop his shoulders, was quick to point out and comment on all animals--whether real or not--to the tot.

“Look at the bear,” Fainbarg said to his son while pointing to a semi-menacing looking Bigfoot. “That’s a monster, dad,” Nicholas answered.

For Nicholas, the big question focused on the giant balloons: “How do they get down?”

While Kemp got his balloons “down,” cameras continued to record the parade for KTLA-Channel 5. The telecast, produced by Field Video Fax and anchored by television personalities Shari Lewis and Bob Eubanks, also was scheduled for viewing in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico via satellite.