With bubbles, balloons, mermaids, aliens, kids on bikes, music and more dogs than we could count, Topangans celebrated Memorial Day with their 48th Annual Parade on Monday, May 29. This year’s event was truly joyful with an endless stream of flowery floats, cars, trucks, motorcycles, pretty girls on horses, and plenty of candy to kick off the summer! Hundreds of spectators lined the boulevard from Pine Tree Circle to the Topanga Community Center to watch the procession, and many joined in with dogs, balloons, bikes and baby strollers. The Winners! Grand Marshals Joseph Rosendo and Roger Pugiese, co-founders of the Topanga Trash Warriors, led the parade with their team proudly driving custom golf carts donated by Steve Toma of I-CON vehicles. Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum won “Topanga’s Top Banana� award for their float that carried Queen Elizabeth I and a cast of characters from the theater’s history. Winning “Most Topanga,� was the UFO float with aliens and all manner of strange creatures aboard who inhabit the Canyon. The Ramos Family’s Minivan festooned with American flags won as the “Most Patriotic� float. The Topanga Bear Republic won “Best Wildlife,� and honestly, everywhere we looked, we saw folks of all ages dressed as bears! Good thing it was a cool morning. Topanga Taekwondo, led by Edison Park , won the award for “Best Youth� float! As always, the students made an impressive display of power and discipline all along the parade route. Taekwando is a traditional Korean martial art practiced in 206 countries that teaches more than physical fighting skills. Taekwondo is a Korean word composed of three parts: “Tae� meaning foot or to step on; “Kwan� means fist or to fight; and “Do� refers to “The Way� or discipline. Rounding out the parade lineup were the Topanga Surf Band riding the Topanga Lumber flatbed as their mobile stage; Flower Power’s proprietor, Abigail Zapata, filled the air with bubbles, enchanting the crowd. They were followed by Bill Buerge’s Mountain Mermaid butterfly truck; Cub Scout Troop 24 from the cast of Moana, Topanga Elementary’s spring musical; Wright Painting; and the Topanga Peace Alliance riding on hopes for peace, harmony and acceptance throughout the world. Scott Wagonseller emceed the festivities, announcing each float as they entered the boulevard and kept everyone in a somewhat organized lineup. As parade coordinator, Lindsay Zook took the microphone at Pine Tree Circle to get the floats lined up, something akin to herding cats. When asked what it was like to coordinate the parade this year, Zook sighed. “It was exhausting,� she said, with a smile on her face. At the very end, a huge cheer went up for the crew of Topanga’s Engine 69, who are the heroes of the Canyon every day of the year!