Red, white and a parade too!

Free breakfast, parade kick off today's eventsIt’s been a 363-day wait (remember, this year was a leap year), but the second annual Red, White and Tahoe Blue finally is here.

The event unique to Incline Village and Crystal Bay starts this morning when the local Boy Scouts raise the American flag at the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District Fire Station at 866 Oriole Way, and it doesn’t let up, save for some sleep, until about 10 p.m. or so Friday night at the Village Green, when the final fireworks stop exploding and the Reno Philharmonic conductor’s arms raise for a final symphonic hurrah.

So, while you’re reading this, maybe even over a plate full of pancakes and sausage at this morning’s free pancake breakfast, from 8 to 10 a.m. at the fire station, here’s a few last minute traffic-related items you need to know about this year’s event.

First, the parade is today, not on Friday the Fourth, so don’t be confused when the main drag through Incline today is occupied by floats occupied by war veterans and candy-flinging children.

The parade begins at 9:45 this morning, with the kids bike and scooter portion, followed by the rest, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. today. The route runs from the corner of Village and Tahoe boulevards west to Country Club Drive. From there it takes a right turn, heading south, before taking another right turn onto Incline Way, ending at the Village Green.

Sgt. Bill Devine, of the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Incline Village Substation, said traffic shouldn’t experience too long a delay during today’s parade. As the parade will be eastbound on Highway 28, the westbound lane will remain open for traffic, such as for people wanting to leave the Raley’s parking lot to head west.

Traffic will be closely monitored, Devine said, and it will be stopped at intersections to ensure safe parade flow.

“Delays should be at a minimum,” Devine said. “Plus, if you’re going through, people might as well just pull over and enjoy it. It’s only going to take 5 or 10 minutes to run through anyway.”

For the short portion on Country Club, in which the parade route travels south, northbound traffic will be open.

Another thing to know is how traffic will flow Friday on Lakeshore Boulevard.

Throughout the day, parking along the road, on both sides, will be off-limits between the Country Club Drive and Village Boulevard intersections, Devine said. Parking already is not allowed on the north side of the road. On the Fourth, however, parking also will not be allowed on the south side of the road.

“There will be loading and unloading zones for the beaches, and there will be handicapped access,” Devine said.

Furthermore, beginning at 8 p.m. Friday, traffic won’t be allowed on the road between Country Club and Village, and the section will be coned off.

The cones will extend north onto Village Boulevard, all the way to Juanita Drive on the west side of the road, and up to the McCloud Apartment Complex on the east side of the road. Parking will not be allowed.

“If we don’t do that and open just one lane of traffic, we’re going to have a head-on,” Devine said. “It’s just safer this way.”

The no-traffic zone will help foot traffic after the fireworks and Reno Philharmonic show, which is expected to wrap up at about 10 p.m. on the Fourth.

“After the fireworks, everyone just spills out onto the street; this is really for pedestrian safety,” he said.