BAY MINETTE — Old television shows and patriotism will dominate the Bay Minette Mardi Gras parade Saturday.

According to parade marshal Wayne Jones, the five floats will each carry a theme of a classic television show. The parade, which is organized by the Mystic Revelers, has the theme “Let Freedom Ring.

“That’s because the parade queen has four children, each one in a different branch of the military, so we thought it was a fitting theme,” said Jones. Queen Candace Roy has children in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.

The parade will begin around noon and last about 45 minutes. After three years of bad weather (the 2012 parade was postponed a week), organizers are thrilled that the forecast for Saturday calls for bright, sunny skies.

“With the weather pretty, we’re hoping for a good crowd,” said Jones. “In past years, we’ve had folks for and five deep along the parade route.

“We’ve got three different groups of Shriners participating. The ROTC will lead the parade. Even the new mayor and city council men and women are participating.”

In it’s ninth year, the parade and the Mystic Revelers have seen changes.  The throws have shifted from cheap plastic beads to more Moon Pies and even stuffed animals. Jones purchased 20 bags full of dolls and stuffed animals to be tossed this weekend.

Saturday’s parade will begin with participants lining up at Bay Minette Middle School on Dobson Avenue, behind Walmart.

“We’ll proceed down the highway toward McDonalds and turn left at the light onto D’Olive Street,” said Jones. “The parade will then circle around the square and that’s it.”

A reduction in membership has forced the Mystic Revelers to cut back recently, but the organization is striving to move forward and expand. A golf scramble at Holly Hills last weekend was such a success, that course officials invited the Revelers back to hold another benefit later in the year.

The parade is not the only Mardi Gras-themed event in Bay Minette this weekend. The Bay Minette Civic Club’s Mardi Gras Carnival opened last night in the parking lot of the Bay Minette Recreation Center. The carnival midway will remain open until Fat Tuesday.