Memorial Day Parade Organizers Make Final Push for Entries

The Mill Valley Memorial Day Parade, the centerpiece of the upcoming , is looking for a few more good floats.

I Love a Parade Committee, which organizes the annual event, has extended the deadline for entries to Friday in an effort to encourage late applications for floats and participants. (Click here for the application and additional info.)

The parade's theme this year is "It's our Kids, It's our Schools, It's our Future," as the organization celebrates its 30th anniversary and seeks to raise $2.7 million this year to fund physical education in addition to its ongoing commitment to pay for arts education and technology programs.

The parade, whose theme this year is “Our Kids, Our Schools, Our Future,” kicks off at 10:30 a.m. at , winding its way through downtown and down Miller Ave. before ending at .

"If you haven't gotten your parade application in yet or you are still deciding to be in the parade, please support this year's efforts to keep Mill Valley schools the best in the U.S.A.," the committee said in an email blast. "If you can't be in the parade, come watch the parade and then come to the party and Carnival after."

The parade will be followed a  on the fields of the  from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tommy Castro & the Painkillers, Danny Click & the Hell Yeahs, The 85's, local teen phenom  and the Mill Valley Middle School Jazz Band are all set to perform at the concert. That event, being organized by the owners of the , will also feature beer and wine from other local vendors.

Starting Friday at 4 p.m. and running through Monday at 10 p.m. will be the revival of the Mill Valley Carnival on the  basketball courts. The Carnival, which was last held in Mill Valley in 2004, takes place throughout the four-day weekend and features 17 rides, from the Berry-Go-Round and Tune Train for little ones to the Sizzler, Zipper, Tilt-A-Whirl and Texas Tornado, all from the California Carnival Company.

Advance $15 ticket books are available in the Kiddo office through May 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and at the Community Center from 3 to 6 p.m. on those days. Ticket books are $25 once the carnival begins. Books may be turned in for a one-day wrist band for unlimited rides. Food and games are extra.