Watch for celebrities in IPL 500 Festival Parade
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Actors, athletes, a rock band and a Holocaust survivor are among the celebrities expected for the downtown parade the day before this year’s Indianapolis 500.
The Holocaust survivor will be the grand marshal of the IPL 500 Festival Parade. Eva Mozes Kor, who lives in Terre Haute, in April received Indiana’s highest honor, the Sachem Award, from the governor. The 83-year-old Jewish native of Romania founded the Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors museum in Terre Haute in 1985. Kor was sent in 1944 to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where most of her family was killed. Kor and her twin sister survived, but were subjected to inhumane medical experiments under Nazi doctor Josef Mengele before their liberation in 1945.
The parade theme, Accelerating the American Spirit, celebrates renegades, according to the parade’s website announcement of the grand marshal.
If you’re a celebrity watcher, expect to see these folks with Kor in the parade:
- Gen. Robert B. Abrams: He is the 22nd Commanding General of the U.S. Army Forces Command. Abrams has served 35 years, and has led units in combat operations in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.
- Maj. Gen. Courtney P. Carr: He is Indiana’s adjutant general of Indiana, leading the Indiana Army and Air National Guard, the Indiana Guard Reserve and state employees, all totaling over 15,800 personnel. Carr began his career in May 1983.
- David Alan Grier: The 60-year-old actor and comedian is best known for his work on the sketch comedy TV show “In Living Color” in the early 1990s.
- Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett.
- Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb.
- Madison Kocian: The 19-year-old American gymnast was a member of the gold-winning women’s team at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
- Nathan Kress: The 24-year-old actor had the lead role on Nickelodeon’s hit show “iCarly,” which ran from 2007 to 2012. He played Freddie Benson, Carly’s smitten next-door neighbor and technical producer of her web show.
- Maj. Gen. Andrew P. Poppas: He assumed duties as the commander of the 101st Airborne Division, in January.
- Lyn St. James: She was the first female driver to win the Rookie of the Year award in the Indianapolis 500 in 1992. She started in seven Indianapolis 500 races.
- Glenn Robinson III: The Gary, Ind., native is a guard for the Indiana Pacers.
- X Ambassadors: The platinum-selling rock band released its debut album, VHS, in 2015. The album features the popular song “Renegades.”
The parade will also feature floats, giant balloon, marching units and bands, and all 33 drivers competing in the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500. The parade will start on downtown streets at 11:45 a.m. May 27. Tickets for reserved seating start at $15. More than 300,000 are expected to attend.