Garden City's annual Belmont Festival celebration will kick-off on tonight (June 8) on Seventh Street between 6 and 10 p.m.

The event will include the annual Hats Off To Garden City Hat contest (registration at 5 p.m.), with judging at 6 p.m. The parade will begin at 7 p.m. and will travel from 9th Street and Franklin Avenue south toward 7th Street before winding its way onto Hilton Avenue and concluding at the Village Gazebo.

Grand Marshal for the parade is Daytime Emmy Award Winner (and Garden City resident) Susan Lucci. Best known for playing the "larger-than-life" diva Erica Kane on the television soap opera, All My Children, Lucci has become a daytime television icon, appearing on the series since it's inception in 1970. Nominated for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmy for her work on All My Children almost every year since 1978, Lucci won a golden statute in 1999 after eighteen consecutive nominations.

Other parade celebrities will include: Todd Pletcher, winner of the Eclipse Award for best trainer the past three years; and the family of trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, who captured the 2006 Belmont Stakes with Jazil and the 2006 Breeders' Cup Classic with Horse of the Year Invasor. Both families will be escorted in cars courtesy of Garden City Saab.

In addition, the parade and festivities will include a performance by The Islip Horsemen's Association Long Island Drill Team. A Long Island mainstay for over 30 years, the drill team will step-up the celebration as its skilled riders and horses offer a lively demonstration as part of the fanfare.

The parade will also highlight the winners of the hat contest, sponsored by The Island, a premiere Lilly Pulitzer Store, and Coach Realtors; as well as the winners of the children's poster contest, sponsored by Sunflower Fine Art & Frame and Walk Street.

The Garden City street festival will also include live music, clowns, street performers and a "taste of Garden City" with local restaurateurs and food vendors lining the avenue. Music and entertainment will be provided by New Vintage; Tom Wagner, accompanied by his Orchestra; the Joe Manfre Jazz Band; the Nassau County Police Pipe Band; Paddy Noonan and Irish dancers; and Six Gun will line 7th street as part of the day's celebration.