| Sunday, May 25, 2003 |
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By Josh Grossberg
DAILY BREEZE
After weeks of frantic work, planning and raising funds, the Redondo Beach Memorial Day parade is ready for its debut.
“Everything is going amazingly well,” said the Rev. Bhagavan Friend, who organized the event. “But we’re all tired and worn out. We tried to do in eight weeks what normally would take eight months. I wake up several times a night with John Philip Sousa playing in my head, but it’s been very fun and exciting.”
Beginning at 10 a.m. Monday on Catalina Avenue from Knob Hill to Torrance Boulevard, the inaugural Redondo Beach Memorial Day Parade and Tribute to America’s Fallen Heroes will feature members of the armed services, local officials, color guards, honor guards, local club members and Cub Scouts, all riding in vintage or military vehicles.
Immediately after the hour-long parade, the tribute will begin at 11 a.m. at the band shell at Veterans Park, which will feature a 21-gun salute, speakers and a reading of names of those who died in the Iraq war.
The event is the longtime dream for Friend, who has been trying to get the parade together for years. He finally convinced the City Council. And he eventually promised to pay $10,000 out of his own pocket.
But he’s already raised about $20,000 in donations. And because the city was able to cut expenses, he said the parade will wind up costing only about $24,000, not the $32,000 originally planned.
“I’ll probably have to put up $4,000 or $5,000 of my retirement money and, if so, I’m honored to do it,” Friend said. “It’s nothing compared to the sacrifice folks made.”
The weather will probably cooperate. It might be a little gloomy outside, but it won’t be raining on anybody’s parade.
“There’s not going to be any problems,” said Bill Hoffer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “We’re in the middle of June gloom in May. All the way to next Friday, look for night-to-morning low clouds and fog.”
With his long hair, thick beard and thin frame, Friend admits that he cuts an unusual figure in the beach town. But he said residents quickly took to him and his cause. He has always been quick to point out that the parade wasn’t about him, it was for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
“I anticipated some hostility and I’m more than pleased to say that aside from a few individuals, there’s been none of that,” he said. “The experience has been exemplary in terms of what America should stand for. I’ve made a lot of friends here.”
With everything pretty much already taken care of for this year’s parade, Friend is setting his sights on next year.
“We’ve already filed the papers,” he said. “We weren’t at the council last week, but they voted to give us $11,000 in waivers for next year. We’re going to take a two- or three-week breather and get a jump start on it. It will certainly be bigger.”
Publish Date:May 25, 2003
Redondo Beach Man Creates Event in 8 Weeks