Lakyn Young will float down the streets of Philadelphia on New Year's Day.

The East Petersburg kindergartner and her Holiday Barbie float will appear in the nationally televised 2008 Southwest Airlines Mummers Parade.

Lakyn, the daughter of Jamie and Jodie Young, was a fixture on last summer's local baby-parade circuit, winning five first-place awards.

Lakyn's float also won best of show at the Ephrata, New Holland and West Lampeter baby parades.

Lakyn, who turned 6 on Christmas Eve, was invited to compete in Tuesday's parade when a Mummers official spied her float in Ephrata.

"He thinks it'll probably (place) No. 1 down there," Jamie Young says.

Young will pull his daughter and the float he built along the 21-w-mile parade route, a journey of about three hours.

"I'm so proud of (Lakyn)," he says. "I don't want anybody pulling it for me."

Lakyn will compete in the juvenile float division, as part of the Goodtimers Comic Club.

Mrs. Young was a local baby-parade regular as a little girl, a tradition she carries on with her daughter.

Lakyn competed in walking divisions since she was 8 months old. Because she loves all things Barbie, her costumes ranged from Scarecrow to Winter Princess incarnations of the famous doll.

After winning many first and second places, Lakyn was ready for a new challenge.

"Being on a float is a whole different ballgame," says Young, who with his wife owns Awe Puppies, a small-breed puppy boutique in East Petersburg.

Young had no idea how to build a float — or anything else.

The project took 11-w months, many late nights and help from relatives and neighbors. Young even went to New York City for a large piece of clear plastic for the front of the float, which he designed to look like a Barbie box.

Mrs. Young helped decorate the float, inspired by her 20-year-old collection of Holiday Barbies.

She made Lakyn's white dress, red cape and white hat. (Lakyn also wears a blonde, braided hair extension.)

The float turned out larger than Young expected — about 8 feet wide by 6 feet tall. He rents a truck with a lift to transport it.

In the summer, the Youngs put a small air conditioner inside the float, which plays Barbie theme music. They will rig up a heater for Tuesday.

They'll also put some candy inside, in case Lakyn gets cranky.

The Youngs leave for Philadelphia today.

Mrs. Young will walk along the parade route, reminding Lakyn to wave to the judges and passing drinks through the float's hidden compartment.

Lakyn will donate any prize money she might win. She spent her fair prizes — over $200, which her parents matched — on Christmas gifts for a needy family.

"That way she can learn to give and not expect anything in return," Young says.

After next summer, Lakyn will be too old for baby parades. But she and her parents also do modeling and acting jobs.

Young has appeared as a detective — and victim — on Court TV's "Forensic Files." Lakyn stars on a hospital billboard along Philadelphia's Walt Whitman Bridge with her mom, who wears a fake pregnant belly.

When Lakyn isn't performing, she likes to play with her five dogs or teach pretend students.

"She loves to play with more boy toys than anything," Young says. "Especially Luke Skywalker."

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