Rose Parade of 2014, titled "Dreams Come True," is set to kick off on New Year's Day, January 1 in Pasadena, California, but the annual event may turn into nightmare, now that one of the floats may display a gay wedding ceremony.
From 8 a.m. (PST) on New Year's Day, floral floats, marching bands and equestrian units will march down the 5.5-mile route along Colorado Boulevard, with around one million spectators expected to watch the event. Beginning from the corner of Green Street nad Orange Grove Boulevard, the parade will turn east at Colorado Boulevard, then turn north onto SIerra Madre Boulevard, and conclude at Villa Street.
Like Us on Facebook Subscribe to eNewsletter
The 2014 Rose Parade will also be broadcast live on ABC, NBC, HGTV, KTLA5, Univision, Red TV, Family Net, Sky Link, and the Hallmark Channel.
However, the extravagant event may be overshadowed by a controversy raised by the plan for a gay wedding ceremony atop a float.
Long-term gay couple Aubrey Loots and Danny Leclair are set to be married atop the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's wedding cake-shaped float, The Huffington Post reports. Sharon Raphael and Mina Meyer, a recently-married lesbian couple will also allegedly join the controversial float.
A Facebook pageemerged asking people to boycott the message by refusing to watch Rose Parade.
"Now gay activists want to destroy the Rose Parade by performing a Gay Wedding[emphasis hers] on one of the floats," says the Facebook page's cover photo. "I guess that's what they mean by 'Dreams Come True' or is it nightmares?" Facebook page's creator Karen Grube wrote.
"Gay marriage is illegal in over 30 states, why would they promote something that is blatantly illegal?" Grube told Pasadena Star-News. "That's just stupid."
"The problem is going to be the wedding kiss," Ralph E. Shaffer, a professor emeritus of history at Cal Poly Pomona, also told the Star-News. "I don't know what the response is going to be."
While controversy persists, the decoration of the floats began as the parade draws near.
The 2014 Rose Parade is a tribute to the 100th Rose Bowl Game, which is to kick off at 1:30 p.m. (PST) on New Year's Day. The game where the Michigan State Spartans plays against the Stanford Cardinal will be broadcast live on ESPN TV.
The four spots for the marching bands are reserved by The Salvation Army Tournament of Roses Band, whose participation in Rose Parade marks their 95th time, The Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Honor Band with its 84th appearance, The U.S. Marine Corps and the Los Angeles Unified School District All District High School Honor Band.
Ticket information for pre- and post-parade events and the Rose Bowl Game can be found here.
Check out the map for the street closures during Rose Parade:
No comments:
Post a Comment