WASHINGTON, June 15, 2013 — After the Swearing-in ceremony for the 44th president at around 11:30 .am. and the luncheon with Congress in the Capitol itself, President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and their wives will lead the Inaugural Parade down Pennsylvania Avenue at 2 p.m. to the Presidential Viewing Stand in front of the White House.
The first Inaugural Parade began with George Washington when he was sworn-in on April 30, 1789, in New York City and local militias joined his journey from Mt. Vernon to New York where members of the Continental Army and Congress as well as prominent people joined him on his march to Federal Hall for the inauguration.
2005 Inaugural Parade Photo: U.S. Navy
While Inaugural Parades in the early years of our country were informal, the first organized parade happened at the 1809 Inauguration of James Madisonm, when he unofficially reviewed the troops.
By the time of President William Henry Harrison in 1841, floats, college students, marching bands, and political clubs had joined the parade.
In 1865, for the first time African Americans joined the parade for Lincoln’s Inaugural. Teddy Roosevelt made sure Native Americans marched in the 1905 parade, including six Indian chiefs with Geronimo front and center and causing an uproar at the time. Women were finally allowed to march in the parade in 1917 for Woodrow Wilson’s Inaugural.
Jimmy Carter is the president who began the tradition of walking part of the way along the one-mile parade route. Today, despite security concerns, presidents continue to walk a large portion of the mile trip from the Capitol to the White House.
There are few if any tickets left for bleacher seating along the parade route, but anyone can stand along the curb to view the procession.
Keep in mind that security will be very strict, so arrive very early, probably before the actual Swearing-in ceremony. While the crowds are expected to be half the size of the last Inaugural in 2005, the best viewing spots will be snapped up fast early in the morning.
President Obama viewing the 2009 Inaugural Parade Photo: U.S. Navy
Below is an alphabetical list of organizations and bands that will be in the Inaugural Parade, courtesy of the Presidential Inauguration Committee.
Look to see if your state is represented. Nearly every state is.
54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts
54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment Company B Silver Spring, Maryland
81st Regional Support Command Wildcats Fort Jackson, South Carolina
A Therapeutic Equine Assisted Self-Confidence Experience (ATEASE) Cottage Grove, Wisconsin
Ambulance 255 Project North Franklin, Connecticut
Asheville High School Marching Band Asheville, North Carolina
Ballet Folklóico de la Raza Colorado Springs, Colorado
Ballou Senior High School “Majestic” Marching Knights Washington, District of Columbia
Boston College Screaming Eagles Marching Band Boston, Massachusetts
Boston Crusaders Drum & Bugle Corps Boston, Massachusetts
Boy Scout Troop 358 Grace Baptist Church of Germantown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Calera Eagle Marching Band Calera High School Calera, Alabama
Canine Companions for Independence Fauquier County, Virginia
Central Valley High School Marching Band Spokane Valley, Washington
Chinese American Community Center Folk Dance Troupe Hockessin, Delaware
Comparza Morelense Las Vegas, Nevada
Culver Academies Culver, Indiana
Dobyns-Bennett High School Marching Band Kingsport, Tennessee
Fergus Falls High School Marching Band Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Firefighters of Idaho Idaho
Frankfort High School Marching Band Ridgeley, West Virginia
Georgia State University Marching Band Atlanta, Georgia
Grambling State University Marching Band Grambling, Louisiana
Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission Charleston, South Carolina
Gym Dandies Children’s Circus Scarborough Maine Schools Scarborough, Maine
Isiserettes Drill & Drum Corps Des Moines, Iowa
Jackson Memorial High School Jaguar Band Jackson Memorial High School Jackson, New Jersey
Kamehameha Schools Warrior Marching Band Honolulu, Hawaii
Kansas University Trumpet Ensemble Lawrence, Kansas
Lesbian and Gay Band Association St. Louis, Missouri
Letcher County Central High School Marching Band Letcher County Central High School Whitesburg, Kentucky
Liberty North High School Band Liberty, Missouri
Little Rock Central High School Marching Band Little Rock, Arkansas
Londonderry High School Marching Band and Color Guard Londonderry, New Hampshire
Miami University Marching Band Oxford, Ohio
Michigan’s Multi-jurisdictional Mounted Police Drill Team and Color Guard Ypsilanti, Michigan
Military Spouses of Michigan Michigan
Montana Delegation Montana
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Washington, District of Columbia
Native American Women Warriors Pueblo West, Colorado
Navajo Nation Band Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah
Northern State University Wolves’ Marching Band Aberdeen, South Dakota
Northwest Dragon and Lion Dance Association Portland, Oregon
Norwich University Regimental Band Northfield, Vermont
Palm Springs “Spirit of the Sands” Marching Band and Visual Corps Palm Spring High School Palm Springs, California
Palmview High School Mariachi and Folkloric Group La Joya, Texas
Pearl River Community College Marching Band Poplarville, Mississippi
Portsmouth High School Marching Band Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Punahou Band and JROTC Punahou School Honolulu, Hawaii
Sarpy County Nebraska Metro Law Enforcement Honor Guard Sarpy, Nebraska
Seguro Que Si Orlando, Florida
South Shore Drill Team Chicago, Illinois
The Tribes of North Dakota North Dakota
Union High School Air Force Junior ROTC Tulsa, Oklahoma
United War Veterans Council New York, New York
University of Maryland Mighty Sound Marching Band College Park, Maryland
Utah Hispanic Dance Alliance Sandy, Utah
Utuqqagmiut Dancers Wainwright, Alaska
Virginia Military Institute Marching Unit Lexington, Virginia
Wind River Dancers Wind River Indian Reservation, Wyoming
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