Rain or shine, the parade begins at 11 a.m. at the corner of Bloomfield and South Fullerton avenues, wending its way to Midland Avenue, then northward to Watchung Avenue, concluding at Edgemont Memorial Park.

The governor will be joined by marching bands and military veterans, Miss New Jersey 2008 and representatives of Montclair State University, with the university being feted in honor of its Centennial.

"We have Miss New Jersey for the first time," said Pat Breschka, director of the municipal Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs. "MSU is the Grand Marshal. It’s going to be exciting."

MSU will feature a float with its mascots, Big Rocky and Little Rocky, aboard, along with a Dixieland jazz band from the John J. Cali School of Music. MSU trustees and Montclair residents Rose Cali and Carlos Ortiz will accompany the marchers.

"W’eve invited all the families who work at the university but live in Montclair to join in the parade. We’ve got 50 to 60," MSU Executive Director of Alumni and Community Relations Julie Adams told The Times. "We’ll have our cheerleaders and the [MSU] police with a Segway and motorcycles."

Adams said the MSU contingent will distribute freebies and remind spectators of its upcoming Centennial Festival on Sept. 20.

This is the governor’s second consecutive appearance in Montclair’s 4th of July Parade. Corzine had made state headlines last year when he briskly marched in the fore of the township’s parade with a noticeable limp due to injuries he had received earlier in 2007 in a car crash.

Picnic

The annual municipal picnic will begin in Edgemont Memorial Park at 12:45 p.m. Applegate Farm and Church Street Kitchen will provide ice cream and food. There will be music, kids’ activities and a petting zoo.

Fireworks

Weather permitting, Montclair will hold its 4th of July fireworks display starting at 9 p.m. tomorrow night in Mountainside Park. Prior to the launchings, there will be musical entertainment by The Kootz.

Sponsored by PSE&G, there will be free rides on trains stopping at all rail stations between Bay Street and Mountain Avenue, located near the park. MSU will be providing free parking in its Red Hawk Deck and providing shuttle-bus service to and from the park’s vicinity.

Due to the fireworks and the large number of attendees, the township will shut several streets to through-traffic, allowing only local vehicles, between 6 and 11 p.m.:

n Upper Mountain Avenue between Jerome Place and Normal Avenue

n Highland Avenue between Bradford and Normal avenues

n Laurel Place

n Mt. Hebron Road between Carlisle Road and Highland Avenue.