It looked like nothing more than a stack of cardboard, but to the 8- to 10-year-olds gathered on the lawn next to the Garfield Elementary School playground, it was the building blocks for a fantastic parade float.

Wednesday afternoon, students covered the cardboard - and each other - in paint as they worked on creating images from South America for their entry into the 60th annual Children's Parade, sponsored by the Corvallis Parks and Recreation Department. This year's theme is Children from Around the World, and organizer Spencer Marx hopes to see Monroe Avenue filled with children representing many nations.

The 60th parade is being held a little earlier than normal, and Marx said that was to distinguish it from the da Vinci Days Festival in July, when it usually occurs.

"We wanted to separate ourselves (from the festival) because we're not related to it," Marx explained. And because Corvallis Parks and Rec holds a series of summer day camps around the area, it seemed a good idea to enlist their help in making floats for the parade.

The students at the Corvallis Parks & Recreation Day Camp special program at Garfield were finding various ways to get ready for the parade, from making a float to creating flags of South American countries. Cameron Hunter, 7, was making brightly colored stripes across a flag-shaped sheet of paper. He had to stop and think about which country's flag he was making.

"Bolivia!" he announced, after making a quick check. Hunter said it was his first time at a day camp, and he was loving it.

"The teachers do fun stuff," he enthused. "They let us play."

Outside, teacher Kirsten Bildfell was trying to keep order as some students painted, some used the cardboard as a sun-tanning bed and some just generally got in the way without doing much of anything. She calmly handed out paint brushes and instructions, and soon a jungle scene began to take shape on the cardboard.

"Uh-oh, we have no more blue paint," she said, after an empty bottle and a quick check of supplies revealed a distinct lack of blue, which meant that the half-finished skyline was going to stay that way. "Maybe you can paint really tall trees."

No sooner said than done, and the students were adapting to the supply shortage by making their jungle trees much bigger than first planned, and the float was once again on its way to becoming a reality.

The parade is open to anyone and no registration is required. Parade participants should meet at the staging area in the Corvallis City Hall parking lot at Sixth Street and Monroe Avenue at 7 p.m. Friday. The parade begins at 7:15 p.m. and travels west down Monroe to 11th Street.

For more information, call 766-6918.