MLK "Dream Big" Day
New organizers for this year’s Martin Luther King Day parade dreamed up some big changes for this year’s event. Along with being renamed the MLK Dream Big Parade, there’s a new parade route in St. Petersburg, and an all-day festival that will take place at Tropicana Field.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston will act as the grand marshal to the procession, leading marching bands from Florida A&M and Tuskegee University. The Marching 100 Rattlers Band of FAMU is known as one of the most notable marching bands in college history, and is celebrating its 70th anniversary.
The new parade route lines up near the St. Petersburg pier approach along Bay shore, heads west on Central Avenue, south on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street, west on First Avenue S and south on 16th Street to end across from Tropicana Field. The parade kicks off Monday at 11 a.m. and goes until 1 p.m.
The parade is followed by a free Family Fun Festival in the parking lot of Tropicana Field. There will also be a block party from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday night welcoming the famed FAMU band back to the celebration. More information on the festivities can be found at http://www.mlkdreambig.com/.