More than 100 vehicles, floats and bands are expected for this year's Lincoln University Homecoming parade in Jefferson City.
It will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, at the corner of High and Broadway streets, between the Truman State Office Building and St. Peter Catholic Church.
As in the past few years, the parade will head east on High Street, through the downtown area - then continue east, past Lafayette and up the hill to Chestnut Street.
There, the parade will turn right and head south on Chestnut, crossing over the U.S. 50/63 Expressway to East Dunklin Street.
The parade will turn right on Dunklin, and head down the hill to Lafayette, where it will turn left and end between Dawson Drive and Roland Street (across from Soldiers Hall).
Traditionally, the parade route has followed Lafayette Street south from High to end at the Lincoln campus - but this newer route avoids carrying the parade through the new Lafayette Street interchange with the Expressway.
This year's grand marshal is Ted Savage, a 1958 Lincoln graduate who later played professional baseball with eight teams, including the St. Louis Cardinals (1965-67) and Kansas City Royals (1971).
He later earned a master's degree from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and a doctorate from St. Louis University.
He spent nine years as Harris-Stowe State University's athletic director and, in 1987, began a 25-year career in the Cardinals' front office - retiring as director of target marketing in the Cardinals Care and community relations department.
Savage was inducted into LU's Alumni Hall of Fame in 2006.
Parade organizer Billy Jamison said Thursday he'd lined up about a dozen people to be marshals for the parade, but he really needs around 40 volunteers to help line up participants and move the parade along.
Volunteers also will help with cleaning up the parking lots where the parade forms, and helping participants place signs on their floats and vehicles.
The volunteers need to be available from 7:45 a.m. until the parade ends around 11:30.
"We will gather at the intersection of Missouri Boulevard and West McCarty Street - across from Capitol Plaza Hotel - no later than 7:45 a.m.," Jamison said. "A table with chairs will be posted in the middle of the intersection (and) donuts, water and coffee will be provided to jump-start the day."
Parade participants gather on the state parking lots on either side of Missouri Boulevard and, Jamison said, some marshals will help get the floats, cars, trucks, bands and other parade participants into the proper order and ready to head east on High Street at the right times.
Jamison plans "a quick wrap-up session" with the marshals after the parade is finished, and said those marshals who are "assigned to blocks can either walk along with the parade once the Royal float - which is always the last parade participant - passes them," or they can choose to proceed to the end of the parade route on Lafayette Street by Jason Gymnasium and Soldiers Hall.
People who want to volunteer should contact Jamison at [email protected].