When Debbie White was a kid living on Buckingham Place in Tustin, a big parade went by her house each year for the Fourth of July.
And thanks to her efforts — and those of others in her close-knit community — her children and other neighborhood families enjoy an annual parade to celebrate American independence … on the same street of her youth.
John Avalos and his son Gavin working securing a mannequin being chase up a pole by a rhinoceros in the back of a pickup truck as neighbors that live on Buckingham Place in the Tustin Meadows neighborhood construct a Jungle Cruise themed float in Tustin on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. The float will be part of the neighborhood’s annual 4th of July parade titled, “Tustin Meadows: The Happiest Place on Earth.” (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie White, left, and her son Miles decorate the Jungle Cruise themed float that neighbors live on Buckingham Place in the Tustin Meadows neighborhood constructed in Tustin on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. The float will be part of the neighborhood’s annual 4th of July parade titled, “Tustin Meadows: The Happiest Place on Earth.” (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie White, left, takes a photo of her son Miles, who will be the captain on the “Buckingham Queen,” a Jungle Cruise themed boat that neighbors in the Tustin Meadows neighborhood constructed in Tustin on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. The float will be part of the neighborhood’s annual 4th of July parade titled, “Tustin Meadows: The Happiest Place on Earth.” (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Neighbors that live on Buckingham Place in the Tustin Meadows neighborhood construct a Jungle Cruise themed float named “Buckingham Queen” in Tustin on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. The float will be part of the neighborhood’s annual 4th of July parade titled, “Tustin Meadows: The Happiest Place on Earth.” (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Lisa Herzog looks for guidance on where to attache a life ring on the float named “Buckingham Queen” as neighbors that live on Buckingham Place in the Tustin Meadows neighborhood construct a Jungle Cruise themed float in Tustin on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. The float will be part of the neighborhood’s annual 4th of July parade titled, “Tustin Meadows: The Happiest Place on Earth.” (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Peggy Delmastro attaches the name of the boat, “Buckingham Queen” as neighbors that live on Buckingham Place in the Tustin Meadows neighborhood construct a jungle cruise themed float in Tustin on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. The float will be part of the neighborhood’s annual 4th of July parade titled, “Tustin Meadows: The Happiest Place on Earth.” (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Neighbors that live on Buckingham Place, from left, Dennis Herzog, Mike Hein, and Miles White attach animal paints to the side of a pickup truck with a scene of a woman being chased up a pole by a rhinoceros as neighbors in the Tustin Meadows neighborhood construct a Jungle Cruise themed float that will be pulled by the truck in Tustin on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. The float will be part of the neighborhood’s annual 4th of July parade titled, “Tustin Meadows: The Happiest Place on Earth.” (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Paintings of animals will be attached to the side of a pickup truck pulling a Jungle Cruise themed float constructed by neighbors on Buckingham Place in the Tustin Meadows neighborhood in Tustin on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. The float will be part of the neighborhood’s annual 4th of July parade titled, “Tustin Meadows: The Happiest Place on Earth.” (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Lawrence White, left, and John Avalos prepare to attach blue plastic to a Jungle Cruise themed boat to simulate water as neighbors in the Tustin Meadows neighborhood construct a float in Tustin on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. The float will be part of the neighborhood’s annual 4th of July parade titled, “Tustin Meadows: The Happiest Place on Earth.” (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Peggy Delmastro, center, uses tape to attach the name of the boat, “Buckingham Queen” as neighbors that live on Buckingham Place in the Tustin Meadows neighborhood construct a jungle cruise themed float in Tustin on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. The float will be part of the neighborhood’s annual 4th of July parade titled, “Tustin Meadows: The Happiest Place on Earth.” (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Neighbors that live on Buckingham Place in the Tustin Meadows neighborhood pose for a photo next to the jungle cruise themed float they built in Tustin on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. The float will be part of the neighborhood’s annual 4th of July parade titled, “Tustin Meadows: The Happiest Place on Earth.” (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
On Wednesday, she and her neighbors gathered to assemble their float. The parade’s theme this year is “Tustin Meadows, The Happiest Place on Earth,” and their entry is inspired by the Jungle Cruise, complete with animals drawn by a neighbor who is a former art teacher.
The float will join other homemade entries — as well as local dignitaries, a school marching band, Miss Tustin and her court, and the Tustin Unified teachers of the year — for the one-mile parade around the Tustin Meadows neighborhood of 935 homes. It kicks off at 11 a.m. from the community clubhouse.
It’s a tradition that marks its 56th anniversary this year. The week includes a community blood drive, a pancake breakfast, an ice cream social, a contest for kids decorating their bikes and more.
“It’s such a hometown event,” said White, who took over organizing the parade 15 years ago. Her husband, Lawrence, serves as emcee. “Everything is homemade, everything is done by volunteers.”
Following the parade, there will be a carnival in the local park with homemade games, a cakewalk, bounce houses and more – proceeds all go to helping the following year’s Fourth of July sparkle, White said.
Several neighbors helped put together the Buckingham Place float Wednesday. White said “people help by making drinks, painting, hammering.”
On Thursday, they might ride on the float or walk alongside it and the street’s youngsters — or visiting grandkids as is increasingly the case as the neighborhood ages — have to make the tough decision if they want to ride the float throwing candy to spectators or be in a position to catch the treats.
“We have friends and family visit for the Fourth who walk away and say, ‘I wish my neighborhood was like this,’” White said.
That’s what she and her husband wanted some 23 years ago when they moved from Irvine to White’s childhood home.
“We lived in townhomes attached to each other and didn’t know our neighbors,” White said. “When we moved here it was an instance connection.”
Now she and the other “Buckingham Babes” have a book club, an annual progressive dinner and a neighborhood watch — that’s when you sit outside and watch the neighborhood go by, she said.
Someone texts the group chat needing an onion or a cup of sugar, and the answer is always, “Here you go,” she said. “We are always here to help each other.”
But that is just the way Buckingham Place has always been.
“We’ve been here for a long time,” she said. ” We all care about each other.”
