Today's annual Martin Luther King Jr. parade in Denver--the Marade--is expected to swell way beyond the typical 30,000 participants. The reason is obvious: Tomorrow, in Washington, D.C., Barack Obama will become the first black American to be inaugurated president. Interest in the Marade has come from groups as far away as Sterling and Grand Junction this year, according to The Denver Post, which cites organizers who predict the largest turnout ever. Feelings of joy and excitement abound lately, particularly in Colorado's black communities, writes the Rocky Mountain News. Meanwhile, some likely Marade-goers won't be able to attend. Instead, they're making their way to D.C. to see the hoopla up close, according to Boulder's Daily Camera. Count among them Stephen Sherman, a Coloradan who served in a segregated unit during World War II and who is getting his 88th birthday wish: no gifts, just cash. Wish granted, as The Washington Post notes. He was navigating the city's subways in a trip that so far seems like a dream. He aspires to get into the presidential ball so he can do the jitterbug with First Lady Michelle Obama.