ORLANDO, Fla. — All eyes are on Orlando this weekend with two of the biggest events of 2024.
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Saturday, tens of thousands of people are expected to pack downtown Orlando for the Puerto Rican Parade and Festival.
This year, the parade is honoring the town of Juncos. While known today for its prominent sports scene, it’s also a regional business hub.
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Since it’s an election year, organizers are encouraging civic engagement as this year’s theme.
Students are also getting to benefit. The parade offered scholarships for five students to go to college.
The parade itself is expected to double in size from last year. Capacity reached about 25,000 in 2024. In preparation -- the city is shutting down roads surrounding the parade route from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Most will re-open by 3 p.m. The parade itself will be running from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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Nearby, at the Kia Center, basketball fans will be cheering for a different reason. After two tough losses, the Magic rebounded -- winning big at home Friday night.
The Magic will take on the Cavs for game four of the NBA Playoffs series. Saturday -- magic fans hope to even the series for their first playoffs series in five years. The game starts at 1 p.m. People can expect big crowds around that area as well.
If you can’t make it downtown, you can also watch the festivities from your living room. Channel 9 will be bringing you live coverage of the event along this route starting at 11 a.m.
Read: Watch the Florida Puerto Rican Parade on Channel 9
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