Dragon roams Hot Springs

A 32-foot dragon was spotted in Hot Springs last week, but all it did was stroll down Main Street and look pretty.

It was part of the town's 13th Annual Lunar New Year Parade and this was the "Year of the Dragon." The colorful mythical creature took six people to operate. Hot Springs resident Mark Cometti was the head, followed in the dragon body by Julie Rae and Brad Peterson of Missoula, Laurie Gibson and Jim Beyer, both of Hot Springs, and Ian Smith of Libby.

"I was just here on vacation and they asked me to do this. This is my first time here," said Smith, who was the dragon's tail. Rae and Peterson were also visiting for the special event, but organizers didn't have enough people this year to man the dragon, so they asked people milling about the staging area.

The Hot Springs organizers based the event on the Chinese zodiac and each year change characters. This year was Year of the Dragon, but as usual, the custom-made dragon was the highlight of the parade. It was designed by Hot Springs resident Curt Kruse and built by about 35 people 13 years ago. It's made from PVC poles, cloth, paper mache, cardboard fins, and a Mylar material for the round frame form. Kruse also designed the rooster, and at around 11 feet high, it was the tallest zodiac animal in the parade. This year it was manned by Matt Lonergan. The Hot Springs resident guessed that it weighed about 25 pounds and said his arms were tired at the end of the parade, which lasted almost 20 minutes.

The parade was kicked off with firecrackers and a siren by Jeff Andrude of Wallace, Idaho, who came to help with the festivities. The dragon was followed by around 25 characters in all shapes, colors and sizes, including the youngest, 1-year-old Rumi Cometti, who donned a little bunny outfit. His mother, Makia, went as a pink rabbit. At 80 and the oldest in the group was Allen Bauer, who portrayed the king rat.

"We had a great time," said Loretta Abbott, the primary coordinator this year. Abbott is also president of the Nyah Grange 133 of Hot Springs, which sponsored the event this year. The grange facility was used to work on many of the character costumes.

There were also cats, rabbits, tigers, dogs, goats, a pig, a purple horse and a 35-foot fish operated by five people from Deer Lodge, Polson, Bigfork, Missoula, and California. Jolene Brackey of Hot Springs was a purple boar. Former mayor Renea Keough teamed up with Will Halliburton in a giant rat. Keough sat in a hidden wheelchair under the costume and steered the rat down the street while Halliburton pushed from behind.

Some were human characters, such as Kamalla Laqueta, who dressed as a joker, and Tracey Dyson, who went as a geisha girl. "I'm from Louisiana and this is as good a reason to have a parade. I love it," said Dyson, who was accompanied by her dog, "Buster."

Giovanni Dellino, dressed in Oriental garb, was the official dragon egg bearer and carried a foot-long paper mache egg throughout the parade, which began at Spring Street, went two blocks down Main Street to Wall Street and back to Spring Street. Paul Stelter of Hot Springs had giant paper mache hands and led the dragon down the street, setting the tempo, he said. This year, a band consisting of Kruse, Steve Williams, Lila Trombetta, and Marcus Kendrot posted themselves in front of the Treasure Chest, playing "Puff, The Magic Dragon" using a variety of drums and a trumpet.

An estimated 200 people lined the street to see the parade, which was three times the crowd from last year, when it was 11 degrees. For the third consecutive year, Rob Goldworm of Sandpoint, Idaho, traveled to Hot Springs just for the Lunar New Year Parade. This year, Goldworm donned an inflatable riding dragon. His three friends from Sandpoint - Sherrie Daily, Geoff Penrose and Kat Burns - also wore dragon accouterments. Kruse said that it was a good turnout and one of better ones for weather.

Kruse believes they've done the entire Zodiac, but might have missed the snake. Missing in the parade this time was the giant purple ox, usually one of the largest animals in the parade, but organizers couldn't find a truck big enough to haul it from storage. Kruse helped make the ox, which he hopes to have in the parade next year. The idea for the parade came from a former Hot Springs resident named Pearl, who wanted to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The group changed it to just the Lunar New Year as a celebration to help break up the winter months.

"I think it went really well, especially since we didn't have a lot of time to plan it," said Abbott, who said the people who normally organize the event were unavailable. Abbott said this was the biggest crowd in the last four years she's been involved with it. "People had a great time and I had a blast," she said. The festivities continued after with a party at Louie's Public House with drinks, food and live music.