The Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade that for decades has drawn lively crowds and joyous floats, dance and music to downtown Las Vegas is returning Monday morning.
The annual event could draw the biggest crowd yet, at least judging by the number of phone calls he’s received as the procession approaches, said former Nevada Assemblyman Wendell Williams, who founded the parade in 1982.
“We have a city that’s embraced it quite a bit,” said Williams, noting that this year’s parade will showcase 243 entries.
The Fourth Street procession kicks off at 10 a.m. and runs through Fourth Street — from Gass Avenue to Ogden Avenue.
The federal holiday marks Rev. King’s Jan. 15 birthday every third Monday of January.
This year’s parade theme: “Living the Dream — Honoring the Past, Embrace the Future.”
Roads along the route will begin shutting down at 6 a.m. and reopen at 4 p.m., according to the city of Las Vegas.
Organizers, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, said the show would go on regardless of weather conditions.
The National Weather Service expects chilled conditions with modest north winds that can make it feel colder.
There was no precipitation expected.
The temperature was projected to be about 40 degrees around 8 a.m. and 48 degrees around 10 a.m., said weather service meteorologist Ashley Nickerson. It was forecast to jump above 50 degrees around noon.
Attendees “might want to bundle up,” she added.
Once warmed, they can enjoy “creative floats, motorcycles, with performance groups and local political figures and celebrities joining in the festivities,” organizers said.
This year’s parade grand marshals are former Las Vegas Deputy City Lisa Morris Hibbler, Clark County Commissioner William McCurdy II and Nevada State University President DeRionne Pollard.
The parade is one of the events the committee is putting on in observance of “King Week Las Vegas,” which includes church services, a tech summit and a scholarship luncheon.
Williams said it takes about 11 months to plan for the yearly parade.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
