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Kingdom Day Parade trades marching bands and drill teams for COVID tests
The Kingdom Day Parade was canceled this year for the second straight year. Instead, the committee held as a drive-thru COVID testing event, something organizers say Dr. King would have approved of.
LOS ANGELES - After two cancellations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual Kingdom Day Parade traditionally held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be held Monday, five months later than usual.
The event had been scheduled for Jan. 17, but was scrubbed for the second year in a row due to the pandemic. Instead, the area served as a COVID-19 testing site. Now, with conditions somewhat improved following the winter surge in virus cases, the parade will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, followed by a festival in Leimert Park.
The festivities will begin at 11 a.m.
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The parade will follow its traditional three-mile route, beginning at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Western Avenue, proceeding west to Crenshaw Boulevard and then south to Vernon Avenue.
The theme of the parade will be "Healing America." The event will include the traditional lineup of marching bands, equestrian units, floats, elected officials and local dignitaries. Actor Bill Duke and actress/model Judy Pace are among those expected to take part in the procession.
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Mayoral candidate Rep. Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, is scheduled to serve as the parade's grand marshal.