The question as to how the nation’s distinct states, traditions and populations could share in celebrating the 59th inauguration without an in-person parade in Washington was answered with a made-for-TV virtual parade with recorded vignettes and musical performances at breakneck speed.
Members of the Youth Empowerment Project of Louisiana danced in neon and black jackets and tights while wheelchair basketball players from the Ryan Martin Foundation of Connecticut flung basketballs like the Globetrotters.
Equestrians of Indiana featured riders on 67 horses carrying American flags in Culver County, Ind., and the Des Moines Isiserettes Drill and Drum Corps banged out patriotic tunes. The King BMX stunt team of Durham, N.C., soared through the air, jumping off halfpipes, while the Kilgore College Rangerettes of Texas kicked up their legs in red, white and blue outfits and white cowboy hats. The Native American Women’s Veterans Warriors stood in a forest and saluted to honor Native American women who have served in the Armed Forces, and the D’Evelyn High School Marching Band performed in an empty field outside Denver.
There were cameos by NBA stars like Chris Paul and social media stars like Nathan Apodaca, a.k.a. Doggface as he’s known online, who skateboarded into TikTok fame while slamming cranberry juice over the Fleetwood Mac song, “Dreams.”
The virtual parade included firefighters playing bagpipes and a dance medley set to “Dancing in the Streets.” Singer Andra Day sang “Rise Up” while young figure skater Kaitlyn Saunders rollerbladed on the Black Lives Matter road mural in Washington.
The parade closed with a video montage of President Biden, Vice President Harris and their family members climbing the steps to the White House.
