West Valley Days coming Saturday

Millwood will strut its stuff during the 11th annual West Valley Days parade and carnival Saturday.

The event is hosted by the volunteers of West Valley SCOPE (Sheriff Community Oriented Policing Effort).

The parade will begin at 11 a.m. at its usual spot, the former Susie’s restaurant at 9611 E. Trent Ave. The parade will head west on Grace Avenue and north on Stout Road before reaching the Millwood City Park at Stout and Frederick Avenue. This year’s grand marshal is Robert Burke, 91, who has been volunteering with West Valley SCOPE since its inception in the mid-1990s.

The park itself will be hopping with carnival games and live entertainment until 3 p.m. Tickets for the games are 50 cents. There will be pizza, cookies and hot dogs for sale. Several prizes will be raffled off with tickets selling for $1 each or six for $5.

Once again, SCOPE volunteers have gathered up six new bicycles that will be given away. Children, who must be accompanied by a parent, can sign up to win one of the bikes. The drawing will be held at 3 p.m., and children must be present to win.

There also will be an open house at Valley Fire Station 2, the former Millwood fire station next to the park. Firefighters in the station and at a booth in the park will be handing out free smoke detectors, escape ladders and a few bicycle helmets. Some of the smoke detectors are configured to flash a light as a signal for the hearing impaired. The open house will be from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.