Salute the colors at the 2010 Carnation Fourth of July parade, themed “Here’s to the Red, White and Blue.”

The parade gets started with the traditional children’s parade at 10:30 a.m. down Tolt Avenue. The main parade follows at 11 a.m.

Each year, dozens of entries take part, from local church, school and communities groups to drill teams from Seattle and Mexico.

This year, Carnation city council members will judge the parade. They rank entries on a scale of 1 to 5 in different categories, and winners receive trophies and ribbons.

The parade grand marshals — this year, it’s the Carnation American Legion post and their Women’s Auxiliary — also select one special winner of the Grand Marshal Award.

Parade entries must pre-register. Sign-in starts at 8 a.m. and entrants need to arrive by 10 a.m. The start area is at Tolt Congregational Church.

Typically, some 50 entries take part, and the parade lasts about an hour.

Parade entry forms and last year’s entry winners can be found at www.carnation4th.org/parade.htm.