Following last year’s special silver anniversary, the Westbrook Together Days parade is taking shape as another classic.

“We’ve got a lot committed already,” said Kelley MacLennan of Harborview Properties in Falmouth, who returns as parade chairman this year.

MacLennan said the parade will start at 10 a.m. at the corner of Lincoln and Bridge streets with the city’s first-graders from Prides Corner and Saccarappa schools serving collectively as the grand marshal. She said all first-graders are invited to participate. With “Reading is Fundamental” as the parade theme, first-graders will carry books and a banner thanking SAPPI, which donates books annually to the city’s elementary schools.

MacLennan already has lined up 35 units for the parade, which featured 58 for the 25th celebration last year. There won’t be any deadline for entering the parade this year, as additional units and floats will be accepted right up to the last minute.

“We want everyone to participate,” MacLennan said.

With the parade theme focused on reading, Walker Memorial Library and the Warren Memorial Library are banding together to represent the libraries. Caren-Marie Michel, a member of the board of directors at Warren Memorial Library, said this year marks their library’s first appearance in Westbrook Together Days.

Michel, who coordinated the Westbrook Together Days parade for three years, said they might have a booth at the park and would march in the parade with the Walker Memorial Library contingent. The Warren Memorial Library staff will carry their banner.

Dori Hawxwell and Virginia Switzer are coordinating the Walker Memorial Library parade entry and the library’s other Westbrook Together Day activities. Their parade float, a trailer pulled by a truck from the city of South Portland, will represent the library’s summer reading program theme for children, “Dragons, Dreams and Daring Deeds.”

Friends, patrons and board members of Walker Memorial Library will march and handout library informational material to parade watchers along the route. ‘It’ll be a grand time,” Hawxwell said.

Additionally, Walker Memorial Library will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday during Westbrook Together Days and will sponsor a book sale. “It would be a good comfort stop,” Hawxwell said about the library, which is located just a short distance from the park where the parade will end.

Westbrook Public Safety will be well represented again this year with police and fire/rescue units.

The parade promises to be fun for vintage vehicle buffs with a variety of trucks, cars and tractors. Riding in antique cars, senior citizens will represent the Westbrook Housing Authority and the Southern Maine Tractor Club will show their classics.

Returning parade favorites include Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, Brownies, Daisies, sports teams and cheerleaders. And lovers of marching music won’t be disappointed, as the schools’ bands will turn out as usual. Other parade entries include the Westbrook Woman’s Club, which started the festival in 1980, Shriners, Festival of Trees, Lutheran Trinity Church, Westbrook First Baptist Church and the Calvary Chapel float with a Noah’s Arc theme.

Mascots will thrill the younger kids, as always. This year’s parade mascots will include Oakie, the Oakhurst Dairy acorn; the Mercy Bear from Mercy Hospital; Pazzo the Amato’s Tomato; Clifford, the big red dog; and Curious George.

Westbrook’s only hotel, Super 8 Motel, which entered a stretch limo last year, will parade a luxury tour bus float. And in keeping with the parade’s storybook theme, marchers from Super 8 Motel will dress as characters from the Wizard of Oz. “We hope for a bright sunny day,” said motel General Manager Robin Hanson.

Hanson isn’t alone. MacLennan and thousands expected to turnout for the parade, which attracts people from the surrounding area, share the same sentiment.