Marriott International has joined Capital Pride as a Presidential Sponsor and the Presenting Sponsor of the landmark Parade. The 39th Annual Capital Pride Parade steps off Saturday, June 7, 2014, at 4:30 p.m., from 22nd & P Streets NW, Washington, D.C. This Parade will end between R and S Streets in front of Whitman-Walker Health on 14th street NW.
For the first time ever in our country, the Department of Defense will participate in a Pride Parade. They will have an Armed Forces Color Guard present and retire the colors at the 2014 Capital Pride Parade. This is significant step forward for the community as a whole and particularly for those LGBT members of the armed forces.
Chris Kluwe will serve as a Grand Marshal for the Parade this year. Kluwe is a former NFL punter, writer, one-time violin prodigy, human rights advocate, and obsessive gamer. Kluwe graduated from UCLA with a double major in history and political science and played for the Minnesota Vikings for eight years. He is the author of the acclaimed essay collection Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies: On Myths, Morons, Free Speech, Football and Assorted Absurdities and has been profiled in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Salon, as well as on The Colbert Report, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, NPR’s Weekend Edition, and Ellen. Kluwe recently spoke at TED about the future of virtual reality technology and its connection to building a more empathetic society, and he regularly makes presentations at major corporations, universities, and human rights organizations.
“We are thrilled and excited for how this year’s Pride Parade is shaping up,” says Ryan Bos, Executive Director of Capital Pride. “To have Marriott as the presenting sponsor of the parade, Chris Kluwe as our Grand Marshal, and the first-ever DOD sanctioned Armed Forces Color Guard is something our community can truly take pride in.”
Marriott International, headquartered in nearby Bethesda, Maryland, is a trusted leader in global hospitality, diversity, and inclusion. Marriott was one of the very first hotel brands to offer equal same-sex partner benefits to employees’ nationwide beginning in 1999.
The Capital Pride Parade travels 1.5 miles through the DuPont and Logan Circle neighborhoods of Northwest Washington, D.C. The Parade is expected to attract more than 100,000 spectators. It will include more than 170 contingents, floats, vehicles, walkers, and entertainment and will feature local and national businesses, Capital Pride Heroes and Engendered Spirit awardees, politicians, community groups and organizations, drag queens, dogs, and much more.
