A Denver tradition will continue Saturday as the annual Columbus Day parade circles downtown.
The parade, sometimes dogged by protesters, has been quiet in recent years.
Parade staging begins at 8 a.m. on Bannock Street near the City and County Building. The parade begins at 10 a.m. and is followed by an after-parade festival at the Sons of Italy Lodge, 5925 W. 32nd Ave. in Wheat Ridge.
This year’s grand marshal is Sal Villano.
Denver has celebrated Columbus Day since 1907 and held its first parade in 1909. Beginning in the 1990s, protests by American Indians and others became common. More than 80 people were arrested in 2007, but no large protests have occurred since 2010.
Columbus Day is officially observed on Monday. There will be no mail delivery and some state offices are closed. It is not a Denver city holiday, so city offices are open and parking meters are not free.
