Making a parade happen takes more than placing groups in a line and telling them when to go.

Evanston’s parade director Hillary Bean said she and other parade trustees have been preparing Evanston’s 4th of July celebration for months, beginning in January or February.

“As recently as 10 years ago, the parade used to cost us $40,000,” she said. “Now it costs under $9,000.”

Fireworks will cost about $25,000 this year.

The entire budget for the parade and fireworks comes from donations, Bean said. It has been difficult to fundraise for the event the last few years, so the group has come up with new ways to raise money, she said. To reach a younger audience, the group now accepts donations via text message.

Last year marked the beginning of entry fees for the parade, which­-according to Bean-hasn’t affected the parade’s size. There are about 118 entries for the 2010 parade, she said.

This year, one of the parade’s regular entries, the Evanston Public Library Precision Book Cart Drill Team, will be joined by a group of supporters-the Evanston Public Library Friends and members of School District 65.

On Monday, the City Council voted to allow Evanston’s branch libraries remain open until February because the EPL Friends raised the money to cover the branches’ operation costs.

“When we realized that we could have the eyes of the whole town, we were all very excited,” said Rick Kinnebrew, a member of the EPL Precision Book Cart Drill Team.

The team’s typical routine consists of library employees pushing carts around in a motion Kinnebrew described as “circular or star” before spinning. This year, he estimates that somewhere between 50 and 100 people will be involved with the book cart drill team.

“We’re not as technical as some other precision book cart teams,” he said. “Seeing some other libraries do it, it’s almost like the Olympics. But we have fun doing it.”

The parade will begin Sunday at 2 p.m., winding from Central Park Avenue East on Central Street to Ashland Avenue.-Trevor Seela