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                                                                                                                                                                      Brandi Davis-Handy

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Celebrities join line-up for the 2009 IPL 500 Festival Parade

INDIANAPOLIS (May 14, 2009) - The IPL 500 Festival Parade, scheduled for Saturday, May 23 at noon in downtown Indianapolis, will once again feature a diverse line-up of celebrities.  The 500 Festival announced today that Josh Duhamel, Kate Flannery, Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, Indiana Pacers Jeff Foster, Roy Hibbert, Stephen Graham, Olympic gymnasts Samantha Peszek and Bridget Sloan and Dr. Lisa Masterson are among the celebrities and VIP’s to be scheduled to participate in this year’s celebration.

 

These celebrities will join Grand Marshal Dick Vitale, Miss America 2009 Katie Stam, Mario Lopez, Melora Hardin, Mary Lynn Rajskub, The Ohio Players and artists Donald Lipski and Thomas Kinkade in the 2009 IPL 500 Festival Parade line-up.

 

Indianapolis 500® Pace Car Driver Josh Duhamel is a Daytime Emmy Award-winning actor and fashion model who has starred on ABC’s “All My Children” and NBC’s “Las Vegas.” Duhamel made his big-screen acting debut in 2004, starring in, “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!” Duhamel has also appeared as Captain William Lennox in “Transformers,” and will reprise the role in the upcoming sequel “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”

 

Actress Kate Flannery is a comedy veteran who has appeared in numerous plays, television shows and comedy acts. She plays Meredith Palmer in the NBC television comedy The Office, and has made appearances on The Bernie Mac Show, Boomtown, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Flannery is a former member of The Second City’s National Touring Company, and an original member of Chicago’s Annoyance Theater. Flannery currently is the musical director of the Los Angeles Drama Club, where she teaches Shakespeare to five through eight-year-olds.

 

Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri has played in five Super Bowls, winning four Super Bowl rings. Vinatieri is considered to be one of the best clutch kickers in the history of the National Football League because of his incredible poise under pressure. He has completed some of the most nerve-wracking field goal in NFL history, including game-winning kicks in the final seconds of two Super Bowls.

 

Jeff Foster had a career high in rebounds and assists during the 2007-08 season, ranking sixth in the NBA. As a 6 foot 11 forward and center, Foster only played one year of varsity basketball in high school before playing college ball at Texas State University. Foster has played for the Pacers since being drafted in 1999

 

Rookie Roy Hibbert graduated from Georgetown University before being drafted by the Toronto Rapters and traded to the Pacers in 2008. At 7 foot 2, Hibbert finished his collegiate career ranked 15^th in scoring, eighth in rebounding and fourth in blocked shots. As a junior, he led Georgetown to its first Final Four since 1985.

 

Stephen Graham completed his first year with the Pacers shooting a team high 58.6 percent from the floor. The 6-foot-6 forward from Oklahoma State University has played professionally since 2005.

Hoosier Olympian Samantha Peszek competed as a member of the United States gymnastics team in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. Peszek helped the U.S. team bring home the team silver medal. She is also the current all-around bronze medalist from the 2008 American Cup. Peszek lives in her hometown of McCordsville, Ind., and will be a senior at Cathedral High School in the fall.

 

Olympic gymnast Bridget Sloan also competed as a member of the United States gymnastics team in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. She helped the team bring home the team silver medal by competing in the vault. Sloan resides in her hometown of Pittsboro, Ind,, and will be a junior at Tri-West High School in the fall.

 

Dr. Lisa Masterson is from the hit CBS show “The Doctors.” Masterson is a specialist in obstetrics, gynecology, infertility and family planning. She is on staff at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and also maintains a private office. Masterson has made numerous appearances on, “Today,” “Good Morning America,” “Dr. Phil,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” and more.

 

The more than 300,000 spectators who are expected to line the two-mile parade route will get a glimpse of these celebrities, Grand Marhsal Dick Vitale, the 33 starting drivers of the 2009 Indianapolis 500 ®, more than 80 specialty units, floats, marching bands and entertainment groups, giant inflatable balloons and costumed characters including SpongeBob SquarePants, Pablo and Tyrone from “The Backyardigans” and Dorothy the Dinosaur and Wags the Dog from “The Wiggles.”

                                                           

The IPL 500 Festival Parade has grown to be one of the signature events in the U.S. each year. It consistently ranks among the top three parades in the nation including the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

 

Themed “Laps, Legends & Legacy: Honoring the 100^th Anniversary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway®” this year’s parade is a true representation of the power and pageantry of the month of May - a Hoosier tradition for 52 years with a television package that will bolster the Parade’s national presence. The IPL 500 Festival Parade will be televised nationally on VERSUS from 5-6:30 p.m. EDT; and locally on WISH TV 8 from 8-10 p.m.

 

Tickets to the IPL 500 Festival Parade are available at www.500festival.com, any Ticketmaster outlet or by calling (317) 614-6400.   Reserved bleacher seats are $13.50; reserved chair seats $17 and reserved VIP/TV Zone seats are $30. For more information visit www.500festival.com.

 

Editor’s Note: For pictures of the celebrity line-up click here.

 

 

The mission of the 500 Festival is to produce events and programs that celebrate the success of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race and enhance the quality of life for the citizens of Indiana and their guests. These events and programs, produced largely by volunteers, enhance the image of our city and state by showcasing our cultural, educational, and social benefits to the world.

 

The 500 Festival, a not-for-profit volunteer organization, was created in 1957 to organize civic events celebrating the greatest race in the world. Over the past 52 years, the 500 Festival has grown to become one of the largest festivals in the nation.

 

Last year, nearly 500,000 Hoosiers and visitors participated in festival activities throughout the month of May. Whether they were athletes running the Mini, fourth grade students participating in the Education Program, families enjoying the state's largest festival for kids or spectators being dazzled by one of the nation's premier parades, they were there, celebrating the legacy.

 

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