4th of July | East Bay Banjo Club

July 4th, 2015

By: Karen Hefter
Photos by: Karen Hefter

The Fourth of July was a beautiful day, perfect for a parade. The weather was warm, but a cool breeze kept us from overheating. Spirits were high as we decorated our float with bunting, flags, signs, etc. Bob Ehrhorn brought a sound system so that we could hear Betty better this year. This was a big help! The parade is always a fun event and it is great to see all of the smiling faces along the street. People make lots of eye contact with us and cheer and clap along to our music. Our players were: Guy Black, Betty David, Clyde Dedmon, Bob Ehrhorn, Don Granberg, John Greitzer, Karen Hefter, Bob Malucelli, Diane Malucelli, Dina Melamed, Linda Myers, and Phil Myers. Kat and David Hefter joined us on the float and threw candy for the kids along the parade route. Dina wore a special, star spangled 4th of July hat that she created herself, complete with an eagle, for the occasion.

A big thank you goes to Bobbie Landers for arranging this playout for us year after year and for coordinating the hay and truck logistics. Extra thanks go to Bob and Diane Malucelli, who brought coffee and donuts for the float decorators. They also brought all of the signs, decorations, etc, as well as the all important ladder needed to get on and off the float! They are kind enough to store all of these items for the club all year long.

: Decorating the float.

: Don puts flags on the float.

: Bob puts the final touches on the decorations.

: Getting ready to go.

: One side of the float.

: Guy and Phil are all smiles.

By Karen Hefter
Photos by: Karen Hefter, Edward Hefter, Linda Myers, and Gloria Pearce
Video by: Edward Hefter

We couldn’t have picked a nicer day for a parade! Spirits were high as we rode down the streets of Orinda on our festive float. We decorated the flatbed truck with bales of straw, bunting, and plenty of American flags. Betty David led us in our parade songs, which we played to the cheers of the audience. Many people smiled at us and air strummed imaginary banjos as we went by. We were told that it was much easier to hear us this year, as compared to last year, which is good! The parade was really well attended this year and it is a real treat to be part of this slice of Americana. Diane and Bob Malucelli coordinated this event for us and even brought coffee and doughnuts for us to enjoy as we decorated the float!

We would like to thank our wonderful sponsors, Alex and Alice Gailas of A.G. Realty (and their dog Apollo) for sponsoring our float again and for riding with us. We would also like to thank club member Bobbie Landers for arranging the logistics of the straw bales for us this year. Our performers were: Guy Black, Betty David, Don Granberg, Brian Green, Marco Green, Karen Hefter, Harry Higgins, Red Higgins, Deb Hodson, Bob Malucelli, Diane Malucelli, Linda Myers, Phil Myers, and Bud Pearce.