Banaf started the team in 2001 with the idea that it would be fun to put a twist on the old-fashioned parade drill team by replacing batons with plastic patio deck chairs. The crowd cheered and laughed when the team danced to the song “Summer Nights” from the musical “Grease” in its first year. A new tradition was born.
The long hours of work that go in to putting on the annual show are just too much for her to shoulder anymore, Banaf said. She also has problems finding volunteers willing to put in the long hours it takes to practice.
Banaf is willing to pass the baton, or patio chair, to someone else if they want to buy the rights to the patio chair drill team name, which she’s had copyrighted, and carry on the tradition.
This year the group of volunteer drill team members will dance to the tune of “Love Shack” by the B-52s. The five-minute routine will be the longest the group has attempted since its inception, a swan song of sorts.
“It’s that small-town atmosphere that is so great about it,” Banaf said. “You turn on to Marine Avenue and you get that adrenaline rush. The crowd is so appreciative and all our hard work has paid off.”
The team has been sponsored every year since 2002 by the Village Inn. The Marine Avenue tavern and restaurant buys T-shirts for the team each year.
“We love them, they’re awesome,” said Trudy Hayes, manager of the Village Inn.
The Patio Chair Drill Team has become synonymous with the Balboa Island Parade over the years.
“I’ll be sad to see it go,” said Carolyn Carr, publisher of the Island Breeze newsletter. “It’s a very upbeat thing. It’s too bad she can’t find someone to take her place.”
