Parade

Panagiotis Sgouridis felt right at home in Baltimore yesterday, despite being an ocean away from his native Greece. A former prime minister and current member of the Greek parliament, Sgouridis marched in the Greek Independence Day Mid-Atlantic Parade that wound through Baltimore's Greektown neighborhood. "It just like in Greece," Sgouridis said of the event, "except this is more authentic. In Greece, the military marches and it's very official. Here, it comes from the people." Greek Independence Day is a celebration of Greece's gaining of independence after 400 years of rule by the Ottoman Empire, a Turkish state that at one point controlled much of southeastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

Taj Pittman strolled down the halls of Running Brook Elementary School in Columbia with a smile on his face that was almost as gigantic as the yellow M&M costume he wore. Taj, an 7-year-old second-grader, chose the costume to illustrate the word gigantic for his school's annual vocabulary parade - an event Wednesday that added an educational element to the traditional Halloween celebration. Later in the day, Taj and the 340 other students in the school ate healthy party foods that included pretzels, carrots, apples, juice and just an occasional sweet.

Washington is going green today. The 36th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade kicks off at noon in the district. Starting at Constitution Avenue and Seventh Street Northwest, the parade proceeds down Constitution Avenue to 17th Street. About 20,000 spectators are expected to watch as more than 100 marching bands, bagpipe bands, floats, Irish dance groups, mounted units, Irish-American community organizations and other groups march down the route. This year's parade theme is "Volunteers Weave Communities Together."

As the floats, fancy cars and marching bands streamed down Bosley Avenue yesterday during the Towson Fourth of July parade, Norma Solomon, with her 3-year-old grandson at her side, let loose an impassioned speech directed at anyone within earshot on why she considers an event like this important. "The community comes together," said Solomon, 61, of Towson. "Children. People of all ethnic groups. We're at peace. If we're not at peace no other day, we're at peace today when we see a parade.

With sequins and spangles, steel drums and jump ropes, Baltimore celebrated its glorious goofiness yesterday at the Preakness Parade.Let other parades enforce their rigid regulations, with flowers-only floats and lock-step lines of march. "This is Baltimore's parade," said Bill Gilmore, director of the city's Office of Promotions. "We're inclusive, not exclusive."A crowd that Gilmore estimated at 50,000 lined downtown streets for the 26th annual parade, a celebration that included just about everyone who wanted to participate.

WHILE THE rest of us are busy decorating our homes for the holiday season, members of the Marley Boat Club are engrossed in decking out their boats with hundreds of lights in preparation for this weekend's annual lighted boat parade."

WASHINGTON -- In this equal-opportunity war, both sides have achieved their objectives. And even bystanders, such as Russia, China, various U.S. corporations, Alaskan reindeer ranchers and others are benefiting.Slobodan Milosevic has irrevocably altered Kosovo's ethnic balance. Hillary Rodham Clinton greeted 453 ethnically cleansed Kosovars at Fort Dix in New Jersey. It will be a long trek home.NATO also has achieved its sovereign objective of largely avoiding NATO casualties. Of course, the three returned prisoners of war perhaps should count as casualties, considering they have been awarded Purple Hearts.

Like a man on a mission, 85-year-old Thomas Aubrey Clark steered his bicycle through the muggy mornings this week to the center of old Dundalk.There, Clark joined hundreds of other behind-the-scenes volunteers preparing for their community's Heritage Fair, a three-day Fourth of July gathering that is possibly one of the largest in the nation."

Santa Claus' elves, his reindeer, his lovely wife and a flatbed truck's worth of Misfit Toys gathered under the Angelo N. D'Anna memorial pavilion in Dundalk yesterday to launch the holiday season in a neighborhood known more for steel workers than St. Nicholas."

The Civil War had been over for five years. Reconstruction of the war-torn South was proceeding when Congress ratified the 15th Amendment, giving recently freed slaves the right to vote.The essence of the historic 1870 amendment reads:"The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude. ... The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

400th Anniversary of Cape May Where: : Locations throughout Cape May, N.J. When:: Saturday through Sunday, Aug. 30 What:: Celebrate the 400th Anniversary of Cape May with various events, including a parade at 11 a.m. Saturday, featuring the U.S. Coast Guard and Color Guard band and other drum and string bands. The parade's route will include Beach Avenue, Pittsburgh Avenue and Patterson Avenue. The review stand will be at Convention Hall. Head out to Historic Cold Spring Village to experience Seafarer's Weekend from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Christmas in July Boat Parade in The Wildwoods Where: : The Wildwoods, New Jersey When: : Saturday, July 18, 7:30 p.m. What: : The 21st annual parade features boats decked out in Christmas themes and competing for prizes for best decoration, best lighting and comic. The two-hour parade route flows along the back bays from North Wildwood to Sunset Lake in Wildwood. How much: : Free What's nearby: : Plenty to see and do along the Wildwood Boardwalk, 38 blocks of fun, including games, restaurants and rides.

Think the inauguration will be a hopeless mess? Not worth the hassle? Don't buy that hype. You can beat the system and be a part of history. But there's no way around it: You need a plan. We'll dispense with common-sense advice, like: Wear enough clothes to be outdoors for 10 hours on an abnormally cold day. Wool beats cotton. Here are insider tips for joining the D.C. fun. * Get an early start. Best to be out the door before the sun comes up. Subways start running at 4 a.m. and by 9 or 10 a.m., they might be impossibly jammed.

Some 400,000 African-Americans answered their country's call during World War I and served in the Army's segregated units. And even though the armistice ending the Great War was signed on Nov. 11, 1918, it was some time before troops returned home. It wasn't until March 25, 1919, that the members of Baltimore's First Separate Company (Monumental City Guards), an all-volunteer African-American unit that was established in 1879, were welcomed home to their native city. Crowds lined city streets that day to watch the First Separate Company in a parade that had formed at Sharp Street Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church at Dolphin and Etting streets, and ended later in the afternoon at the Fifth Regiment Armory.

It's unlikely you'll see Michael Phelps peel off his shirt, lean out of his open-top Hummer and fling it into the parade crowd today. That's something he did in 2004, the first time he returned home from the Olympics to attend a parade in his honor. His mother, Debbie, responded in mock horror, and as his female fans squealed, Phelps flashed a cocky grin before reluctantly covering himself. You won't see that from Phelps today because - sorry, ladies - he's more mature and more comfortable with his fame.

Though it rained in fits and starts from daylight to dark, spectators packed Baltimore's Inner Harbor last night for a rousing fireworks show. A family from South Dakota decked out in rain ponchos, a Harford County grandmother, and a man from Long Island, N.Y., who said his friend told him the fireworks in Baltimore are "better than Disney World," all staked their claim to a spot on the waterfront for the Fourth of July display. Although rain stopped just before the fireworks began, some in the crowd held open umbrellas and most avoided sitting on damp ground.

11 a.m. THANKSGIVING PARADE --Big balloons, bands and Santa Claus will march into town, kicking off Baltimore's holiday season. Santa will arrive in a horse-drawn sleigh and set up shop at Santa's Place near the Inner Harbor amphitheater to hear kids' wishes. The parade runs along Pratt Street, from Howard Street to Market Place. Information: Go to bop.org. Noon HOLIDAY ARTS WEEKEND --Get a behind-the-scenes look at the Mill Centre as resident and guest artists open their studios until 5 p.m. today and noon-5 p.m. tomorrow.

Taj Pittman strolled down the halls of Running Brook Elementary School in Columbia with a smile on his face that was almost as gigantic as the yellow M&M costume he wore. Taj, an 7-year-old second-grader, chose the costume to illustrate the word gigantic for his school's annual vocabulary parade - an event Wednesday that added an educational element to the traditional Halloween celebration. Later in the day, Taj and the 340 other students in the school ate healthy party foods that included pretzels, carrots, apples, juice and just an occasional sweet.

As reported Oct. 29, 1948, in The Sun: "Ellicott City last night opened a new county-owned parking lot with a parade which was witnessed by approximately 8,000 persons. "The 350-car lot, which will be free, is located behind the post office adjacent to the main business section of the town. "According to Robert Weigel, who was in charge of last night's celebration, the parking lot was developed by Howard County, through the efforts of the Business Men's Association of Ellicott City. "Land for the lot was deeded to the county by Isaac H. Taylor, Max Goodman and Charles E. Miller, members of the association, who believed that the town badly needed more off-street parking facilities, Mr. Weigel said.

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATING THE GALLERY Drop by Harborplace this weekend to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Gallery. Tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday night, enjoy an eclectic mix of live performances, including the antics of Jerry Rowan, a fire-juggling show, comedy juggler Evan Young and live music from rock, ska and reggae fusion band the Players and jazz band Lafayette Gilchrist and the New Volcanos. .................... The anniversary celebration is 5 p.m.-11 p.m. tomorrow, 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Sunday at the Harborplace Amphitheatre, between the Pratt and Light streets pavilions.