The annual Chicago Pride parade will see a few new participants and a new float during this year’s June 27 event. The Chicago Cubs of the National League announced it will have a float in the parade—which makes sense considering that the popular Boystown area of the city is within a mile of Wrigley Field.
Several members of the NHL Champion Chicago Blackhawks will also attend the festival, along with the Stanley Cup.
Blackhawks President John McDonough is rerouting the Stanley Cup from the NHL draft in L.A. to the parade. Blackhawk defenseman Brent Sopel has volunteered to represent the team.
“I am honored to do it,” said Sopel, who will be accompanied by wife, Kelly, and his four kids, Jacob, 12, Lyla, 8, Jayla, 6, and Paul, 20, whom they adopted three years ago.
“The power of the Cup is incomprehensible, and we recognize the importance of doing this,” said McDonough, who has arranged for the Stanley Cup to be flown back from the National Hockey League draft in Los Angeles 15 hours early. “It’s important for the city and important for the franchise.”
On the baseball front, this will mark the first time that the Cubs have officially participated in the Pride festivities and many credit new part-owner Laura Ricketts, who is a lesbian.
The Blackhawks story has received extensive media coverage, including reports on Yahoo! News, NBC-TV in Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times.
