Floats, bands and cars carrying celebrities have begun to roll down Pennsylvania Street as the 2009 IPL 500 Festival Parade kicked off at noon today.

Thousands of residents began to line the parade route along Pennsylvania and Meridian streets as early as 9 a.m.

•Interactive parade guide

Kelly Mark and her son, Gavin Williams, 2, drove three hours from Columbus, Ohio, for the parade. Her friend had offered her tickets. All were sitting on the blue line, a mark painted on the street along the parade route, designed to be the front row for parade watchers.“This is really exciting,” Mark said. “I’ve never been this close as parade participants before. I just wanted to see (my son’s) reaction. He has been to parades before, but never one this big.”About 300,000 onlookers were expected today. At University Park along Pennsylvania Street, almost every shady spot was filled with a chair by someone watching the parade in the humid, 80-degree weather.The nearly 2-mile parade route, which begins at North and Pennsylvania streets and ends on Meridian Street near I-65, takes about 90 minutes to complete.