Orange Walk wows Kansas Citians. Did it outshine Chiefs, Royals parades?
Kansas City got a true taste of the orange crush Thursday, June 25, thanks to the Netherlands’ loyal fan base (and quite a few locals joining in on the fun).
Thousands packed the KC Live! Block inside the Power & Light District for a pre-Orange Walk party, dressing the party venue in orange. Dutch DJs played hits from their homeland and classic party anthems from the United States, while the full-capacity crowd waved flags with the Dutch team’s logo.
The two famous Orange Buses later led the parade down Grand Boulevard. One led the way, and the other joined partway through to guide thousands more to its destination, the intersection of Grand Boulevard and Pershing Road in front of Crown Center.
While the buses are new, it’s a scene very familiar to Kansas Citians. Grand Boulevard has been the site of one Royals World Series parade and three Chiefs Super Bowl parades since 2015, where those respective parades turned the city into a sea of blue or red.
How did this compare to those parades? Here’s what locals walking down the trail and on the bus said about Thursday’s once-in-a-lifetime experience.
‘This is a whole country’
KC native Brian Johnson said he had to come out to experience the Orange Walk after seeing videos of their past walk in Dallas. He said it’s unlike anything he’d ever imagined.
When asked how this compared to previous Chiefs Super Bowl parades, he said there’s no comparison.
“This is much better than the Chiefs parade,“ Johnson said. “We love the Chiefs here, but listen to how passionate they are.
“The Chiefs do it for a city. This is a whole country.”
He said the event felt different because of the Dutch culture and traditions, including dancing and setting off flares, infused throughout the event in a way that involved everyone. Unlike the parades of the past, fans were walking in the streets just a few feet away from the buses.
Teal next?
Quite a few people were partying on the buses slowly rolling down Grand Boulevard, including Mayor Quinton Lucas. Someone who’s gotten very close to the Netherlands’ national team was also riding along.
Chris and Angie Long, the married co-owners of the Kansas City Current, are hosting the team while they’re in the World Cup. The players are using their team’s facilities to get ready for their matches.
Angie Long said it’s hard to compare this to the parades of years past, but that she’s taking a few notes for a future parade of her own, hopefully with the NWSL championship in hand.
“We got to have our own sea of teal,” Angie Long said.
Similarities to the Chiefs
Kendall Kuxhouse had a couple of friends from the Netherlands in town for the festivities, sticking around a half-mile away from the second bus. She said it was exhilarating seeing Kansas City come together with the Dutch for the parade.
She has called Kansas City home for the past six years, meaning she’s seen her fair shares of parades with the Chiefs. She thought what the Netherlands hosted was equivalent to the Chiefs.
“In the sense of everybody coming together and seeing the city come together for a celebration, people really showed up and showed out,” Kuxhouse said.
It was also similar vibes, Lisa Tapp said, but she noted that the big difference was that it didn’t feel like she had to be in one spot. It wasn’t your standard parade, in which players were on the buses waving hello to the thousands standing on the sidewalks, blocked from entering the streets.
“You were the parade,” Tapp said
