The man in demand at the Leavenworth Road Parade this year will be DJ Joe.
After appearing in the Leavenworth Road Parade last year, he was contacted by all the dance studios and asked to play music for them, said Lou Braswell, executive director of the Leavenworth Road Association.
“He was fantastic,” she said. DJ Joe got the Leavenworth Road parade award for music last year.
The parade this year will be at 2 p.m. Sunday from 72nd Street and Leavenworth Road to 51st Street and Leavenworth Road. Walkers will join at 64th Street.
DJ Joe will try to work with many dance groups in the parade this year. He will work with a group, then go to the Welborn School area and wait until the next dance team comes up, then play their music from his base at the school grounds, she said.
Music will be a big part of the parade this year, she said, with three high school bands – Washington, Wyandotte and Schlagle – scheduled to march and perform. After the parade ends, the three bands will hold a Bands Showcase, each playing three songs.
Russ Love again will be the announcer for the parade, she said. “He makes it a show all on his own,” Braswell said.
There were 42 entries in the parade as of Monday night, and there may be a few more on the day of the event, she said. The parade marshal is Superintendent Cynthia Lane of the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools.
The entries include all sorts of floats and vehicles, she said. Also, there will be horse entries in the parade this year.
The KC Marching Falcons and some new dance studios are planning to be in the parade this year, she added.
A color guard from Washington High School ROTC will march, and singing the national anthem will be Makynzie and Camryn Sanchez, granddaughters of Ralph and Janet Golubski.
Refreshments will be available before and during the parade. A breakfast will be served by the Knights of Columbus from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, at Christ the King Church’s Davern Hall, 53rd and Leavenworth Road. Pancakes, eggs, sausage, biscuit and gravy, and drink will be available for a suggested donation of $5.
Also, during the parade, Little Joe’s Pawn shop at 51st will be giving away hot dogs, and James’s at the car repair shop across from Happy Foods at 5420 Leavenworth Road will give away hot dogs and brauts, according to Braswell.
The weather forecast may have a slight chance of rain Sunday, which Braswell doesn’t really like. “It can do whatever after Sunday, but please hold off ‘til then,” she said.