Special to the Trenton Telegraph

Organizers of Trenton’s Missouri Day parade have 40 floats, tractors, classic cars and other community entries signed up and want more.

“Certainly, the marching festival entries plus the community parade entries combined is what makes the Missouri Day parade so exciting and a unique tradition,” said Carrie Lamm Clark, a parade co-chair for the Trenton Rotary Club, said. “We continue to invite community entries, with a goal of 60 community entries total, across any of the categories.”

The count, as of last week doesn’t include marching bands, which are handled separately by the Missouri Day Marching Band Festival.

Entries will still be taken up to the morning of the parade and worked in where feasible.

The parade steps off at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17.

Entries can compete in 10 judged categories: school/youth, community/nonprofit, business, religious, sports/club, tractor, best car or truck pre-1960, best car or truck post-1960, equestrian and political.

A nonjudged category is open to entries that don’t want to be considered for an award.

Forms are available on the Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce website under the Missouri Day tab and on the Rotary Club of Trenton Missouri Facebook page.

There is no entry fee except in the political category, which costs $25. Political entries get no special placement.

“Political entries will be worked into the lineup the same as other entries,” Clark said. “Every entry gets assigned a lineup number.”

This year’s grand marshal is Rotarian Dan Wilford, who served as a pastor for 66 years in Illinois and Missouri and worked 43 years as a licensed professional counselor, KTTN reported. His more than 40 years of community leadership include the Arts Alive board, the Trenton Area Ministerial Alliance and Family and Friends of the Disabled.

He is a longtime Lions Club member and has been a Rotary member in Milan and Trenton, serving at least two years as a club president.

“Trenton Rotary Club is proud to work with our fellow community agencies to make this year’s parade a special experience for all who attend,” Clark said. “We are thankful for our many community members who come together to make the Missouri Day Parade, the Marching Festival and Missouri Days Festival a success.”

This year’s theme, “Stars, Stripes and Show-Me Pride,” ties the event to the nation’s 250th anniversary, according to the Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce. The chamber sponsors the Missouri Day Festival, set for Oct. 16 and 17 at the North Central Missouri Fairgrounds, with the marching band festival on Oct. 17.

Started in 1984, the festival honors Missouri Day, which the Missouri General Assembly established in 1915 at the urging of Trenton schoolteacher Anna Lee Brosius Korn.