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First group of famous faces at 500 Festival Parade announced

The 500 Festival has announced the first group of celebrities, VIPs and dignitaries appearing at the 2019 IPL 500 Festival Parade.
Jerry Mathers arrives at the 22nd Annual Race To Erase MS Event held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel on Friday, April 24, 2015, in Los Angeles (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — The 500 Festival has announced the first group of celebrities, VIPs and dignitaries appearing at the 2019 IPL 500 Festival Parade.

Grand Marshal Sam Schmidt was previously announced. He will be the first person to drive himself in the parade. Schmidt suffered a spinal cord injury in the 2000 season opener at the Walt Disney World Speedway. He developed a special car controlled with his head and breath, which he'll drive at this year's parade.

Schmidt first drove the car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2014, where he reached 97 mph.

Since his injury, Schmidt created Conquer Paralysis Now, a leading research group whose main objective is to find a cure for paralysis.

The 500 Festival also previously announced country music duo the Swon Brothers will perform as the opening act with the Indiana Pacemates and the Indianapolis Colts Cheerleaders. The brothers were on the fourth season of NBC's "The Voice." They will sing the national anthem before performing their song "Later On."

Here is a list of other people currently confirmed to be in the parade:

  • Marc Summers - TV personality and talk show host
  • Terrell Davis - NFL Hall of Famer and creator of the "Mile High Salute"
  • Jake Short - actor in Disney shows "A.N.T. Farm" and "Mighty Med"
  • Domantas Sabonis - Pacers center
  • Jim Cornelison - famed "Back Home Again in Indiana" singer
  • Lyn St. James - first female driver to win the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year award
  • Jerry Mathers - Beaver Cleaver from "Leave it to Beaver"

The parade is Saturday, May 25 at 11:45 a.m. Watch it exclusively on WTHR Channel 13. For tickets, click here.

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