WASHINGTON — A batch of big events including competing marches, a parade, an airshow and festivals are set to make for an interesting weekend across the D.C. region that is sure to also include significant traffic jams.
On Saturday, the ”Juggalo March on Washington," ”Mother of All Rallies," and Fiesta D.C. Latino culture parade all combine around the National Mall.
A National Park Service permit issued to the band Insane Clown Posse's record label allows so-called ”Juggalos" to gather in front of the Lincoln Memorial around noon Saturday, march around the Washington Monument, then return to the Reflecting Pool for a concert from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The permit says the stated goal of the gathering is ”to demonstrate and speak out against the Department of Justice's labeling of Juggalos (fans of the band) as a gang."
Organizers expect around 3,000 of the Insane Clown Posse fans, who often wear clown face paint or the group's symbol of a man running with a hatchet, to attend Saturday's event.
An FBI report described the group in 2011 as a ”loosely organized hybrid gang."
A website for the ”Juggalo March on Washington" describes it as ”taking out [sic] fight to the streets. Literally." The band has disputed the FBI's characterization and have challenged it in court.
There have been instances where ”ICP" disputes have led to serious injuries.
During the march, the permit requires the group to stay on the sidewalks and to avoid blocking traffic. The head of the record label and the label's director of public relations are listed as the people in charge of the event, which has been planned for more than a year.
Down the Mall on the other side of the Washington Monument, a group of supporters of President Donald Trump are planning a rally just across the street from the planned path of the Juggalos' march route.
The formal permit for the ”Mother of All Rallies" is expected to be issued later this week after final details are nailed down, National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst said in an email.
That group plans to gather on the National Mall east of 14th Street between the Department of Agriculture and Smithsonian National Museum of American History around 11 a.m. to ”send a message ... we stand united to defend American culture & values," according to one of the websites linked to the march.
It is not clear how many people will attend, but social media pages tied to the event have several thousand likes or RSVPs.
As with all permits, the Park Service can revoke either of them immediately at any time ”should it reasonably appear that the public gathering presents a clear and present danger to the public safety, good order or health."
An anti-Trump rally, focused on Russian interference in the 2016 election, is also planned for Saturday.
The ”March to Protect Democracy" plans to gather on the Pennsylvania Avenue side of the White House around 10 a.m. before marching north on 16th Street to the Russian ambassador's residence.
Wrapping around those events will be the annual Fiesta D.C. parade celebrating Latino culture. The annual parade is scheduled from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. along Constitution Avenue NW.
Constitution Avenue is scheduled to be closed from about 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. between Ninth Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue NW
7th Street NW across the National Mall will also be closed.
During and just before the parade, Constitution Avenue NW will be closed from Pennsylvania Avenue to 14th Street NW, and 7th Street, 9th Street, 10th Street and 12th Street (including the 12th Street Tunnel) will be closed from about 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
On Sunday, the related Fiesta D.C. festival closes Pennsylvania Avenue NW between Third Street NW and Sixth Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW between Pennsylvania Avenue NW and 6th Street NW all day.
The festival is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Fiesta D.C. typically draws more than 100,000 people in all.
Near the National Mall, the 2017 National Capital walk to end Hydrocephalus will start from the Sylvan Theater shortly after noon Sunday. Registration is set to begin at 12:30 p.m., and post-walk activities are scheduled to end by 4 p.m.
Also on Sunday, Rock Creek Parkway, Ohio Drive and Independence Avenue west of 14th Street SW will be closed for the Navy-Air Force Half Marathon and Navy 5 Miler.
The first of the 10,000 or so runners are due to start near the Washington Monument just after 7 a.m. Half marathon runners have until 9:45 a.m. to reach the turnaround point on Rock Creek Parkway at Beach Drive/Shoreham Drive in Woodley Park to head back toward the Mall, and must finish the course by 10:45 a.m.
