Parade entries must reflect Lincoln theme

Longtime Nevada Day Parade attendees will remember the days when the parade was so long, it lasted more than four hours.

Organizers have since become more discriminating, cutting the number of entries this year to 175, said Reg Creasey, Nevada Day Committee chairman.

The 2009 theme for Nevada Day is "Nevada Salutes President Lincoln," and to be selected for the parade from hundreds of applications that come in each year from around the state, entries must fit the theme, Creasey said.

"People can only sit and watch a parade for so long," said logistics coordinator and past chairman Ron Bowman. "You can get to the point where you don't want to watch another car or pony go down the street."

This year's parade will feature a new trend in parades - push cart floats, said Creasey.

"We've been trying for two years to get a float (from the Nevada Day Committee) in the parade, but come parade day, everyone is just too busy," he said.

What Creasey has been seeing more and more is a trend toward the push floats, which are considerably smaller, and environmentally friendly, than engine-driven floats.

"A lot of parades are going to push cart floats. You need two or three people who can push them down the street, but you can decorate them really cute. They're easy to put together, easy to store and we've got ours built, but we need volunteers to push it," he said.

"It's hard for a company to come up with the money and time for a big float, so it's a new concept we want to get going this year." he said.

A cart, much like the lumber carts from home improvement stores, was donated to the committee, and members decorated it to replicate the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

"I heard about these at parade conferences and I went to a Fourth of July parade in Summerlin (Nev.) where they were a big hit," Creasey said. "Some are wide and some are tall and skinny."

Creasey said by cutting down on the number of parade entries, spectators will have a better experience.

"We're being very selective, being sure the entries match the theme. We're going to have more quality, but keep the Nevada spirit," he said.