Jackson Bell
It hasn't been an easy six months for the organizers of Burbank on
Parade.
After canceling the parade, then resuming it, and next having to
resolve the conflict in date with the Armenian Genocide Remembrance
Day, organizers have finally fixed all the kinks and look forward to
starting the show.
"[Parade organizers] look at all of it as a small stumbling block,
and can't wait for Saturday and to then get started on next year's
parade," said Joanne Miller, the parade's spokeswoman. "We usually
work on this for almost a whole year, and a few pitfalls on the road
are OK -- nothing worthwhile is easy."
The 23rd annual Burbank on Parade will kick off at 11 a.m.
Saturday, and will march east along Olive Avenue from Keystone to
Lomita streets. Nearly 240 different groups and about 4,000 people
will participate in this year's event, which is themed "Let Us
Entertain You." Every float will have a tie-in to entertainment.
This year's highlight will be television star and comedian George
Lopez as the grand marshal. The Los Angeles Irish Set Dancers, led by
Burbank resident Michael Patrick Breen and the Reel Cowboys, a group
of men who ride on bails of hay in flatbed trucks, are other new
additions to the two-hour parade.
The 1974 Ford Torino hot rod from the film "Starsky & Hutch" will
also be featured.
In addition, drill teams, marching bands, floats, clowns and
equestrian acts will dazzle the anticipated audience of 30,000.
The parade will conclude its run with an awards ceremony in George
Izay Park. Also at the park, a crafts fair will be open from 8 a.m.
to 4 p.m., a talent showcase will run from 2 to 4 p.m. and the cars
that carry the celebrities and dignitaries will be on display.
Mary Alvord, who has announced the event for the past four years,
will be the first city manager to ride in the parade.
For Alvord, it is exciting to be part of an event that is
essentially Burbank.
"The parade is important because it is the epitome of what people
think of the city," she said. "Despite being a city of 100,000
residents, the parade reinforces that Burbank has a small, hometown
feel."
