Nội dung bài viết
There will be another first at the upcoming 138th annual Rose Parade. An LGBTQ+ marching band will be the first-and-only all-queer ensemble of musicians, dancers, flag wavers and baton twirlers to march their way down Colorado Boulevard on Jan.
1, 2027, leaving their mark on Tournament of Roses history. The Pride Bands Alliance will consist of 340 performers culled from about 30 community bands from 21 states plus Canada.
The entry will be the largest LGBTQ+ massed band of “out, loud and proud” members ever assembled, said the Tournament of Roses. The choice was made by Terry Madigan, 61, president of the Tournament of Roses for the 2027 parade .
Madigan is the first out gay man to lead the iconic Pasadena parade in its 138-year history. Before, there was the first Latino president, Laura Farber, and then Ed Morales, of Mexican descent, who led the 2025 parade.
The first Black president, Gerald Freeny, served from 2018 to January 2019. Madigan has been very visible about being gay.
And his choice of the Pride Bands Alliance extends that tone of diversity to the parade itself. “People are very excited about seeing this band in the parade.
And I am absolutely thrilled,” said Madigan during an interview on Aug. 18.
Madigan, who chose the one-word parade theme “Welcome,” said the Pride band was the most natural fit with the theme. “The theme is all about belonging,” he said.
“I talk about the transitional power of belonging. Everyone needs a support system who accepts them for who they are.” He and his husband, Kevin Sommerfield, have visited many community gay bands who are sending members to join the composite Pride band on Jan.
1. He has witnessed the comradery during rehearsals, where queer and trans members feel safe and can relax.
“For many, this is a second home for them,” Madigan said. “These may be the only people outside of their family who understand them for who they are.
That bond we saw between band members is so familiar.” Madigan always introduces his husband at these rehearsals and visits, from Ohio to Texas to Florida. The pair has been together 32 years, married 17 years, he said.
“A young man came up to me and said he never heard anybody from a stage introduce their same-sex spouse and how important that visibility was for him,” he remembered. From California, he didn’t know how to react, since he hadn’t experienced that kind of response befo re, Madigan said.
Being visible, or out of the closet, is something he sees as important with the Pride Bands Alliance marching in the Rose Parade.
That means being seen on television by 30 million viewers in the United States, plus 20 million in 60 countries around the world, for a total of 50 million watching, not including less than 1 million along the parade route.
“I talk about the impact this band will undoubtedly have on young people who are either confused and struggling with their own sexuality. The impact of seeing more than 300 out, proud musicians in the Rose Parade could change lives — and it could save lives,” he said.
Almost five years ago, Madigan approached David Doan, who was president of the Pride Bands Alliance. Doan, who lives in Studio City, plays the flute and piccolo in the local Gay Freedom Band of Los Angeles, which last June performed at the L.A.
Pride Parade. “He (Madigan) told me wouldn’t it be awesome for the Gay Pride Band to perform (at the Rose Parade).
But we had never done anything of this magnitude. The board initially pushed back, saying we can’t do it,” Doan said.
Costs plus worries about exposure during times when the Trump Administration is a ttacking transgender people and LGBTQ rights accounted for their “no.”
Gợi ý thực hành:
1. Theo dõi thông báo từ cơ quan địa phương tại California.
2. Kiểm tra nguồn chính thức trước khi chia sẻ lại thông tin.