She's been working for months on a display many of you will be lining up to see next week.
But Linda Ballantine won't get to watch her own show.
Such is the life of a Fourth of July parade director. "I never even see the parade. I'm stuck cleaning up the parking lot," she says.
Still, it's a job she's excited about, and there's never a dull moment. "Crunchtime is the morning of the parade when you're trying to pull it all together - making sure everyone you've got signed up is in a space that works for them," she said.
And then there are the people who include their pets in the parade. There's nowhere for the animals to, well, go. "Then you have to ask, did people remember to bring their pooper scoopers?" she said, laughing.
Ballantine, who is the longtime director of the Rolling Meadows Chamber of Commerce, took responsibility for the parade in 2006. The Jaycees had handled it for years but then started to lose their volunteer base.
She had organized many awards dinners, but never a parade before - and in the first year she had only two months to do it.
In that year, she recalled, four bands were signed up. The Rolling Meadows High School band was the only one that showed ˆˆ- on time, anyway. As the parade wrapped up and the final squad cars prepared to depart, buses with the three other bands rolled into the high school parking lot.
"They followed the blaring sirens, back to back, all three of them," Ballantine said.
She was exasperated when she got calls later from people wondering why she had ordered the parade that way. "Those are the things you go through," she said.
Ballantine learned quickly that a director must be an idea generator. She wanted her first parade to offer something unique. So instead of giving city official just bags of candy to toss she ordered rubber ducks with the 9-1-1 emergency number printed on them.
"Nobody throws out rubber ducks," she said. "You have to think outside the box. If you've got a small budget, you look for ways to make a splash."
The response was so positive, she made it a tradition. This year, look for glow-in-dark ducks, as well as ducks dressed in armed services uniforms. She's ordered about 1,500 of them.
The parade starts at 11:30 a.m. on July 4 at Jay Lane and Central Road. It heads north to Grouse Lane, west to Meadow Drive, then north on Meadow Drive to Kirchoff Road.
The grand marshal will be state Rep. Carolyn Krause, who recently received the chamber's Lifetime Achievement Award.
Volunteers are key to the parade's success, and Ballantine is looking for more beyond the dozen or so who help out. She needs them for last-minute decorating of the golf carts and the big trolley that city officials and other dignitaries ride on.
If you think you can help, give Ballantine a call at (847) 398-3730. And if you'd like to offer a suggestions for next year's parade, she'll welcome them. Just remember to be nice. For her, July 4 will be a long day.
Colleen Thomas' column appears Fridays. She welcomes your news about community events and people. Call (847) 427-4591, or e-mail her at cthomas@dailyherald.com.