The California Boot Ride and Rally has grown tremendously over the last three years thanks to the support of the Sons of Anarchy cast and their fans who show up in full force every year.
Theo Rossi & Kim Coates arrival to the Boot Campaign Rally & Ride.
The charity’s goal is to benefit the military, past and present, and their families, and has provided them more than $2,000,000 in direct assistance. The Boot Ride and Rally will focus its fundraising efforts on the Boot Campaign’s Housing Initiative and will provide support for Veteran Housing in Southern California.
The August 25 event kicked off with a motorcycle ride that started at the USS Iowa, the battleship docked in San Pedro, with the Sons cast, and concluding at the Happy Endings Bar, which traditionally hosts the rally. Prior to rolling out on the ride, I caught up with members of the Sons cast, all in high spirits.
Red carpet gentlemen: Coates, Boone, Rossi, Flanagan and Callie.
Theo Rossi and Kim Coates walked in together, literally beaming; their excitement for the event was that clear. Although the entire Sons cast has supported the national non-profit organization, Rossi and Coates have been relentless in their commitment, pledging their support since 2009. The actors have also often hosted veterans in their homes and have visited military bases around the world. In fact, Rossi is one of the organization’s ambassadors. He and Coates took us back in time by sharing the history of their (as well as the show’s) involvement with the campaign, and their push to raise awareness about the issue of veteran homelessness. They disclosed some troublesome statistics – 300,000 homeless veterans reside in LA County alone – and pointed out how the event’s proceeds will aid this specific group of veterans.
Coates explained their goal was “to really raise awareness as to what is going on in the community of these veterans who do come home…and often come home to nothing.”
Rossi jumped in, exclaiming, “Rocking the boots!” pointing to his boots, which are at the heart of the non-profit’s fundraising effort. “It’s a tangible way to show people we remember.”
Rusty Coones indicated he would stay throughout the Rally & Ride until “they kick us out!“
Christopher Douglas Reed was next. I asked him how his character, Filthy Phil, is doing now that he’s been patched into the MC. “It’s a different game, growing into your skin and your own place in the club rather than doing all you can to make the club.”
Emilio Rivera, who plays Mayan Leader Marcus Alvarez, was able to confirm that “Marcus is still alive.” The good times sure keep on rolling for Rivera, who will be seen next in a new FX series, Gang Related. In addition, as we reported last year, Rivera will put on the director’s hat in City of Kings (previously called Sangre y Familia.)
Flanagan made it clear there would be no Sons talk that day as he was all about the Boot Campaign. He confessed to having a soft spot for vets, and voiced his outrage at how many are homeless.
Rusty Coones, who plays former nomad chapter president Quinn, proudly proclaimed how honored he was to be at the event as the troops are the biggest heroes to him. Regarding his involvement in the show, he revealed “Sons is one of the most fun things I’ve ever done.”
Fan pandemonion erupted as Charlie Hunnam walked the red carpet.
Mark Boone Jr., who prefers to be called Boone, jokingly stated he was there for the girls but quickly reiterated his strong support for all the wounded warriors and their families too.
It should be noted other cast members were also in attendance: Michael Ornstein, Jimmy Smits, Niko Nicotera, Winter Ave Zoli, Dayton Callie, and David Labrava. As fans happily snapped photos of their favorite actors during the red carpet appearances, the biggest question of the day had to be where was leading man Charlie Hunnam? Although the fans had to wait, Hunnam didn’t disappoint and upon arrival, headed straight to the fans to mingle.
As the Rally continued into the night, it included performances by Blackberry Smoke, and Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown. A surprise guest band had been announced and it turned out to be none other than the Sons’ house band, Forest Rangers (including the show’s music supervisor Bob Thiele)! If this wasn’t enough of a treat for the fans, the Forest Rangers were joined on stage by Curtis Stigers, who delighted the crowd with “John the Revelator” and “This Life,” the Emmy®-nominated theme song for the FX hit drama.
The event wrapped up with Rossi and Coates going on stage, joined by the Boot Girls (the five women from Texas who started the non-profit as a grassroots initiative), to thank the sold-out crowd for their support. They were joined on stage by Nina and John Escoto (retired Army), who were awarded a mortgage-free home donated by Chase Bank (the Boot Campaign sponsored the home presentation). Escoto is a Purple Heart recipient who has six children with Nina, his wife of 20 years.
About The Boot Campaign
The Boot Campaign is a national 501c3 nonprofit that is dedicated to showing tangible appreciation of our active military, raising awareness of the challenges they face upon return and supporting their transition home. Through the sale of its signature military combat boots, general public donations, and corporate sponsorship, the Boot Campaign operates five distinct initiatives —Housing, Jobs, Wellness, Urgent Assistance, and Family Support– that care for military personnel, past and present, healing from a variety of physical and emotional combat wounds, embodying the campaign motto, “When They Come Back, We Give Back.” www.BootCampaign.com.
Video interviews with SOA cast at Boot & Ride Rally
To learn more about Sons of Anarchy, visit: http://www.fxnetworks.com/soa and http://www.sutterink.com/.
From FX:
Salute the troops: SOA and “The Boot Campaign” – Salute the troops with SOA and learn about their involvement with the military, and how they give back to our soldiers both home and abroad.
To check out Kurt Sutter’s Sons of Anarchy video channel on YouTube, go to http://www.youtube.com/sutterinksoa.
Follow @sonsofanarchy, @sutterink, and @FXNetworks, and tweet using the hashtag #SOAFX.
Photos © 2013 Elle Lutz – https://www.yourentertainmentcorner.com. All Rights Reserved.
elleL
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