Parade will be shorter

The Las Vegas Strip will ride down Carson Street on Saturday as a float in this year's Nevada Day Parade.

One word will describe this year's parade: Shorter.

Parade Chairman Joe Dilonardo said there will be 210 entries in the parade, 32 fewer than last year.

"We asked for some comments on last year's parade and one of the things people said was that it was too long," he said.

Last year's parade ran 4 hours and 12 minutes, inspiring organizers to reduce its size.

"We elected to reduce it to 175, but that was wishful thinking," Dilonardo said. "We are hoping to get it down to around 3 or three-and-a-half hours max."

Not only will the parade be shorter, but organizers took the opportunity to be a little choosy.

"One of the things we wanted to do was get quality floats instead of having 200 cars," he said.

One of the floats coming to Carson City will represent the Las Vegas Strip in all its glittering glory.

"We've got something really interesting this year," Dilonardo said. "A couple of gentlemen built a float depicting the Las Vegas Strip. It shows all the hotels and has 15,000 lights on it. Tourism has underwritten the $5,000 to move it from Las Vegas, and we're going to put it where people can observe it after the parade."

The parade will feature marching bands from as far away as Elko, along with the bands from Carson City and Washoe and Douglas counties.

"We'll also have well in excess of 200 veterans involved in the various groups," he said. "One of the other things we wanted to do was bring in more youth."

Dilonardo said he was hoping for good weather this Saturday for the parade.

"The weather is always a factor," he said. "Hopefully, we'll have good weather this Saturday."

The forecast so far calls for a high of 65 with a mix of clouds and sun.

City and state offices will be closed Friday for the Nevada Day weekend. The 1999 Legislature approved expanding the holiday into three days.

Mail will be delivered on Friday and Saturday, and Carson City's main post office will be open on Friday.

The Carson City Library will be closed throughout the weekend.

Most banks will be closed Friday and Saturday, but not all. Check with the institution for hours.

If you go:

What: Nevada Day Parade

When: 10 a.m.

Where: Parade starts at William Street