Thousands turned out for the 46th annual Columbus Day Parade yesterday to cheer on string bands, local politicians and a motley assortment of Italian American organizations all sporting the ubiquitous green-white-and-red flag of their mother country.

Actress and singer Connie Stevens was this year's Grand Marshall. She made the slow trip from Broad and Federal to Marconi Plaza with a steady smile and the firm wave of a parade veteran.

Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidates Mike Fisher and Ed Rendell marched as well. The two rivals greeted potential voters with easy handshakes and smiles while their aides hustled up and down the sidelines passing out campaign literature and buttons.

But most people at the parade seemed more interested in the music and the food than the politics.

"I've been to more than 20 of these. They don't change much, but neither do I, and why mess with a good thing anyway?" asked David Johnson, a Philadelphia resident who says his mother is Italian. "And the Eagles were off this week, so it was an easy call."

For Eileen Roberts, a New York resident in town to visit family, the parade offered some insight into Philadelphia's unique flair.

"Guys in sequins eating pork sandwiches. This is some town," she said.