Regarding your first question about whether it is worth it to bring your 5 year old, here are my impressions of the parade. I went for the first time last year after hearing a lot about it. It seemed to me like there were a few clever/thoughtful/entertaining/quirky/funny parts of the parade that were positives (e.g. lawnchair brigade, a bunch of Elvis's, antique cars and boats, bus carrying the local nursing home residents, etc). However the downside for me was how many parade entrants were just looking for some free advertising - things like people driving their septic pumping truck or their landscaping truck with their signage on them. Maybe if they had gone to the effort of shining them up or decorating them? But looks like some came straight from job sites. That was the only downer for me - that part of the parade would certainly not be entertaining to a young child. All in all, I'm glad I saw it once but likely won't make it a regular thing.
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