“Thanks to our major sponsors, WestAmerica Bank and Piedmont Lumber & Nursery, and to the many volunteers who spent part of their Memorial Day weekend working on the parade lineup, barricade duty and judging,” said chamber Chief Executive Officer Melissa Fulton on behalf of the board of directors for the Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Fulton also thanked the city of Lakeport's Public Works Department and Lakeport Police Department for all their efforts; and the Lake County Fairgrounds for their cooperation in allowing the lineup to take place on the grounds. Although the entries this year were down a little from last year, a great deal of space is still necessary to get everyone in place, Fulton said.

While to the public watching the parade it may seem a simple chore to organize the lineup, Ginny Clinton, the parade's lineup chair for close to 18 years now, puts several hours in to make sure everything goes well, said Fulton. Clinton goes over every entry, determining where best to place each one. Some of the considerations are children’s groups not too close to horses, conflicting music presentations by entries, music or loud sounds which might frighten horses, the list goes on.

A matrix of all entries is made for the fairgrounds and then Clinton, with around six or seven volunteers, makes sure that the entries are placed to the matrix and then as the parade begins, the various entries are blended into the correct lineup order from their various locations on the fairgrounds.

Fulton said they take great pride in this parade always starting at 11 a.m. Lineup volunteers this year were Barry Clinton, Dan Comacho, Dianna Hendrick, Eli Hendrick, Dana Kearney, Lori Coovert, Mary Southard and Jim Magliulo.

A very important volunteer task is placing the barricades into the intersections from First Street to Clear Lake Avenue. (These were put out on the corners Friday afternoon by the Public Works Department.) It’s important to the safety of all the entries and spectators that traffic is kept off of Main Street during the parade, Fulton said.

This year Cindy Parlee of Renee’s Restaurant organized the team of John Whitehead and Richard Bruch who also took them out of the intersections after the parade. The City Public Works Department was working on this as well.

“My personal thanks always to husband John Fulton, who brings all the tables, chairs, umbrellas and cold water for the judges and sound system for our stage. He also helps to put up the 'no parking' signs so the streets are clear for spectators!” Melissa Fulton said.

The official announcer was Paul Reading, who always does an excellent job, being the pro that he is. Parade judges this year were Anna Girod, past president of the Lakeport Regional Chamber and owner of AGM Property Management; Ted Mandrones, marketing director for Piedmont Lumber & Nursery who provided the stage; and Chuck Holder, owner of Holder Ford Mercury. Assisting with tallying the judge’s slips was Brittany Maldonado. The CSHA Equestrian Judge was Kim Cipro of Lower Lake.

The results of Saturday's Memorial Day Parade are as follows:

GRAND SWEEPSTAKES: Pearl Harbor Survivors, Chapter 23 North.

THEME AWARD: Two-way tie, Pearl Harbor Survivors, Chapter 23 North; Operation Tango Mike.

JUDGES CHOICE: Operation Tango Mike.

DIVISION I, FLOATS, Best of Division: Piedmont Lumber & Nursery.

COMMERCIAL: First place – Piedmont Lumber & Nursery.

FRATERNAL/SERVICE ORGANIZATION: First place – Lake County Shrine Club, Lower Lake; Second place – Delta Iota Tau, Lakeport/Kelseyville; Third place – Elks Lodge No. 2704, Lakeport.

MILITARY: First place – Vietnam Veterans of America, L/County Chapter 951; Second place – Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2015.

DIVISION II ~ VEHICLES Best of Division: Lake County As, Kelseyville.

CLUBS: First place – Lake County As, Kelseyville; Second place – Lake County Corvettes.

CARS AND TRUCKS: First place – Piedmont Lumber, Lakeport; three-way tie for second place – Allen & Donna Thomas of Lakeport, Jim and Claire Gill of Lakeport, and Bob Lininger of Lakeport; Third place – Cadillac Pat Sperling, Lakeport.

OTHER – First place: Kulture Shock Car Show, Lakeport.

DIVISION III ~ GROUPS, Best of Division: Pearl Harbor Survivors, Chapter 23 North.

ORGANIZATION: First place – Pearl Harbor Survivors, Chapter 23 North; Second place – Operation Tango Mike; two-way tie for third place – People Services Inc., That Other Quarter Quartet, Lakeport.

SENIOR: First place – Lakeport Senior Center; Second place – Red Hot Mommas of the Red Hat Society; two-way tie for third place – Konocti Kuties - Red Hat Society, Whatever Red Hat Society.

DIVISON V ~ JUNIOR Best of Division: Kelseyville Youth Football League.

SCHOOL: First place – Kelseyville Youth Football League.

DIVISION VI ~ MUSIC Best of Division: Clear Lake High School Band.

BANDS: First place – Clear Lake High School Band.

DIVISON VIII ~ EQUESTRIAN Best of Division: Clear Lake Junior Horsemen.

MOUNTED GROUP: First place – Clear Lake Junior Horsemen.

The following equestrian classes had only one entry per class, so all receive first place awards:

• Senior Arabian Costume Mary Ann Reece, Sebastopol;

• Senior Novelty Lonne Sloan, Lower Lake;

• Senior Western Working Beverly Baxter, Santa Rosa.

The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the front lawn of the Middletown Library, located on the corner of Calistoga and Callayomi Streets in downtown Middletown.

Books will be sold by the bag at a bargain price of $5 per bag. Some selected quality books will be sold individually. Profits from the sale will go to purchase new books and supplies for the Library and for the new Library Building Fund.

Books for sale include best sellers, children’s, mysteries, spy intrigue, romance, cookbooks, self help, reference, audio tapes and CDs – and some surprise offerings!

Please show your support of the local library by joining the group for the June 20 sale.

LAKEPORT – The Friends of the Lake County Library annual meeting will take place on Wednesday, May 27.

The meeting will be held beginning at 10 a.m. at the Lakeport Library, 1425 N. High St.

The group will elect officers, receive various reports and take care of other business.

The public is invited to attend.

For more information call the Lakeport Library, 707-263-8817.

Groups statewide are organizing rallies to celebrate or organize Tuesday evening.

Marriage equality supporters will hold a gathering at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, in front of the Lake County Courthouse Museum in the 200 block of Main Street in downtown Lakeport.

For more information call Laurie, 707-413-7167.

The event will take place from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 6, at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 401 Martin St., Lakeport.

The cost is $7 per ticket or four tickets for $25.

People Services has been serving the community since 1974. The group's purpose is to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities by providing services – from transportation and employment to tutoring and advocacy – that promote life exploration.

For more information visit www.peopleservices.org or call People Services' Lakeport office at 707-263-3810.

A huge variety of groups, organizations, clubs and individuals have entered this year. Among the entries are several military groups who will illustrate the “Celebrating America” parade theme.

“Some of these groups will be firing guns, with blank ammunition, so we want everyone near the judges' stand in front of the museum to be aware that this is happening,” said chamber Chief Executive Officer Melissa Fulton.

Announcer Paul Reading will caution the crowd concerning the sounds prior to the start of the parade with his opening remarks.

Major sponsors for the parade this year are WestAmerica Bank and Piedmont Lumber. Once again, Piedmont Lumber has supplied the stage. Pak 'N Mail in Lakeport sponsored the printing of the parade applications.

Parade judges this year will be past chamber president Anna Girod, AGM Property Management; Chuck Holder, Holder Ford Mercury; and Ted Mandrones, Piedmont Lumber. Street barricades will be available thanks to the city of Lakeport Public Works Department. Volunteers to place barricades in the street are being supplied by Cindy Parlee, owner of Renee's Restaurant at 10th and Main Streets in Lakeport.

As the parade travels from the fairgrounds, it will turn north on Main Street and continue to Clear Lake Avenue, disbanding at that location.

Caution should be practiced by all motorists in Lakeport near the parade route, said Fulton, as many of the entries will be returning to the fairgrounds via Forbes Street and many of them will be moving slowly.

Normally the parade takes a little over an hour to travel the entire route, with the last entry being the Lakeport Fire District trucks.

There will be something for every age. A large number of Corvettes are anticipated, thanks to the sixth annual Lake County Corvette Show, but this year they are being broken into groups for the parade. Their show is on Sunday at Library Park, with Corvettes from all over California and some from out of State.

The Chamber Board of Directors encourages everyone to visit the annual 4-H Pancake Feed at Natural High School Saturday from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., put on by the Lakeport Kiwanis.

The Kiwanis also holds their two-day Craft Fair at the same location on Saturday and Sunday, featuring the work of many fine artists and craftspeople from Lake County and beyond.

Sunday is the annual Lower Lake Daze Parade and all day festivities on Main Street in Lower Lake. Sunday evening everyone should plan to attend the first-ever “Dinner and a Movie” – featuring “American Graffiti” – in Library Park, presented by the Lakeport Main Street Association.

The price for adults is $20 for dinner/movie, $10 for ages 12 and under. If people just want to come for the movie, the cost is $5/ticket.

The Lakeport Main Street Association is using the event proceeds as a donation to the Lakeport July 4 fireworks. So you can enjoy a fun beautiful evening in Library Park and help raise money for the fireworks at the same time.