Bigger parade expected Saturday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Heather Rawlyk

Friday, Jan. 16, 2004 | 9:31 a.m.

The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade will start at 10 a.m. Saturday in downtown Las Vegas, and continue until 1 p.m.

This marks the 23rd year for the event, known for its colorful floats and colorful ethnic dress styles.

The parade will roll down Fourth Street, between Hoover Avenue and Fremont Street.

The event has 135 entries this year, a significant increase compared with the 10 entries the event featured at the first parade in 1981, parade chairman Eddie Taylor said.

The parade will feature several Clark County schools and community organizations. Bands, drill teams and ROTC cadets are to march the streets, along with college fraternities and sororities and members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Black nurses and lawyers will also join the march, along with several of the city's political figures, Taylor said.

"It's going to basically be the same parade as every year," he said. "But this year we have more entries, so it will be bigger. We have a large number of elementary schools and high schools coming out too."

"We have entries this year from California and Omaha," Taylor added.

The parade is a joint effort between the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee and Las Vegas, which provides staff and equipment.

City officials said people need to keep in mind that Fourth Street will be closed to downtown during the parade. Alternate access will be available on Third Street and on Las Vegas Boulevard.