100 Entries Line Up for Conejo Valley Parade

More than 100 entries, including a stage coach, equestrians, drill teams and eight school marching bands, are set to participate Saturday morning in the 48th annual Conejo Valley Days parade.

The parade will begin at 9 a.m. on Thousand Oaks Boulevard at Dusenberg Drive and will travel west to Erbes Road, officials said.

Students will hand out 1,000 miniature American flags to the crowd and Thousand Oaks City Council members and their families will ride a municipal float -- decorated with a 24-foot oak tree, a faux cake and presents -- to commemorate the city’s 40th anniversary this fall.

The parade, with the theme “Spirits Soar in 2004,” is one of the major events of the annual western-flavored community celebration, which is a major fundraiser for local charities. For the first time, a formation of World War II and Vietnam-era military planes will fly overhead, officials said.

A chili cook-off, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Thousand Oaks, is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Conejo Creek Park South at Janss Road and California 23. Admission is $6 for anyone 13 and older.

Samples of 50 types of chili will be available, and the top cook selected by judges from the International Chili Society will be invited to the 2004 world championship cook-off in October. There also will be a contest, known as Whiskeroo, at 1 p.m. Sunday to judge the most distinctive facial hair in the Conejo Valley.

On Wednesday, the five-day Conejo Valley Days carnival will begin at the same Conejo Creek Park location. The carnival will include musicians, magicians, dance groups and other live entertainment, and a rodeo at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. May 1 and 1 and 4 p.m. May 2.

Conejo Valley Days will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and April 29 and until midnight April 30. Hours are noon to midnight May 1 and noon to 8 p.m. on May 2.

Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for students and seniors, $3 for children ages 6 to 12 and no charge for children under 6 with an adult guardian.

Rain date for the parade is May 1. For details, contact the event hotline at (805) 371-8730 or view the website at www.conejovalleydays.com.