Parade | 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: “Washbored Don” Granberg
Photos by: Linda Myers and Edward Hefter

Wow! It’s hard to believe that the year is half over. The 4th of July parade in Orinda was a lot of fun. We milled around the parking lot in the morning and enjoyed pastries until the truck and finally the straw bales arrived, as arranged by Bobbie Landers. Edward Hefter, Bob Malucelli, Phil Myers, and another hunk loaded the hay on the truck and we all helped to decorate the float. Herb Moore, Karen Hefter, Mickie McDonald, Linda and Phil Myers, Bob and Diane Malucelli, Ardie Jarrett, Chris Lardge, Dick Neuman, and Don Granberg played their hearts out on the songs selected by Betty David, our leader for this performance, and the beat was kept by Guy Black. We followed Boy Scouts, old cars, a Dixieland band, and a number of other groups through Old Orinda Crossroads and then through Orinda Village. Our newest member, David Hefter, helped keep the beat by playing his washboard. Although new to the EBBC, his amazing memory allowed him to play along with all of the songs without looking at any music! We all played in the heat until our fingers were numb and nearly melted. It was a lot of fun and everyone who participated had a great time. We would like to give a big “thank you” to our corporate sponsor, Alex Gailas and his wife from A.G. Realty, for supporting the EBBC in this parade.