CHICAGO (June 27, 2014) — The Chicago Fire Soccer Club has partnered with PepsiCo and Section 8 Chicago of the Independent Supporters’ Association to participate in the 45th Annual Chicago Pride Parade for the second consecutive year. The parade, which is scheduled to kick off on Sunday, June 29 at noon, starts at Montrose Avenue and Broadway in Uptown and ends at Diversey Parkway and Sheridan Road in Lincoln Park.
Fire mascot Sparky, staff members and players, including forward Quincy Amarikwa and defender Gonzalo Segares, are set to appear on the co-branded float featuring the Fire badge logo and PepsiCo brands, Quaker Oats, Tropicana, Gatorade and Frito-Lay. The float will also consist of 20 Fire front office staff and Section 8 Chicago members and over 150 PepsiCo employees, including members of EQUAL, PepsiCo’s LGBT employee resource group.
The Chicago Pride Parade is the grand finale of the annual Pride Weekend celebration, which takes place in June each year. Since its inception, Chicago Pride has grown into one of the largest and well-known Pride events in the world. Pride has come to symbolize the long history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer dignity, the freedom of all people to meaningfully and proudly express their sexual and gender identities, and the commitment of LGBT people to combating oppression.
Additional information on the Chicago Pride Parade can be found here.