The 61st annual Kiwanis Pet Parade is Saturday.

Few have volunteered as long or as extensively as Los Altos resident Lee Lynch. A former mayor and councilwoman in the 1970s, Lynch’s community service resume is quite long, including everything from the city’s historical commission to the library, Los Altos Rotary Club and Bus Barn Stage Company.

Lynch is scheduled to serve as Grand Marshal of the 61st annual Kiwanis Club Pet Parade, set for a 10 a.m. start time Saturday in downtown Los Altos.

The Los Altos Rotary Club’s Fine Art in the Park show is scheduled 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in Lincoln Park. (See separate story, Page 11).

“It’s a thrill and an honor,” said Lynch, who has been involved in Los Altos since the 1950s when she supported bond measures for the city’s civic center.

“It is only fitting that the Grand Marshal be someone who represents the embodiment of community commitment and behind-the-scenes hard work,” said Kiwanis Club member Laura Bajuk, this year’s parade chairwoman. Bajuk works with Lynch at the Los Altos History Museum.

Lynch, a retired librarian, served on the historical commission in the 1970s that launched the Los Altos History House, now part of the Los Altos History Museum.

She is a founding member of the El Camino Hospital Auxiliary and Los Altos Sister Cities.

“I enjoy serving my community,” Lynch said. “I like being busy.”

Continuing a practice begun last year, the club will contribute $500 to a local non-profit organization of the Grand Marshal’s choice.

The pet parade started in 1947, five years before the city of Los Altos was incorporated. The parade has become a spring tradition attracting thousands of children with pets of all varieties – from snails to llamas – in wagons, on bicycles, with parents and neighbors, accompanied by representatives from local bands, schools and other community groups.

“This should be the classic family and friends experience you expect it to be,” Bajuk said. “After 61 years, it’s so much a part of our community that changing it much just won’t do.”

Admission is free and the public is invited – especially children and pets.

For more information or to enter the parade, e-mail Bajuk at laurabajuk@LosAltosKiwanis.org or visit www.LosAltosKiwanis.org.

The Los Altos Town Crier sponsors a Pet Costume Contest following the parade. For information, visit www.latc.com.