(Photo: Carlo Allegri/Getty Images)

The time of the Dark Carnival is finally upon us: This Saturday will see the Insane Clown Posse’s personal fan army—a.k.a., the Juggalos—march on Washington D.C. for a political rally to protest their treatment by the federal government. And while there was a time once when seeing a group of clown-makeup wearing youths with hatchet iconography and a cultish devotion to cheap Midwestern soda descend on the instruments of government might have seemed kind of scary, it’s 2017 now, and we’re pretty much willing to give any marchers without explicit Nazi or white supremacist overtones a big ol’ “ Whoop whoop and come on in.”


If you’re looking to prepare yourself for the big day, Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope have got your back, releasing the full schedule for the event via Twitter tonight. The itinerary features speeches and performances from a number of Psychopathic Records-affiliated acts, plus appearances from culture writers and fans, including A.V. Club alum Nathan Rabin. The march proper will kick off at 4 p.m., and will be followed by the reading of a written statement from the ACLU, voicing support for the band’s efforts to get the government to stop classifying its fans as gang members. The march’s web site—which also includes safety tips and guidelines for the protest—features a number of testimonials from Juggalos who say their lives were damaged merely because people disapproved of the way they were down with the clown.


The event will culminate with a performance from the ICP itself on the National Mall, just outside the Lincoln Memorial—a phrase that kind of seems like it should have emerged from a nightmare, but oh well. It’s not like they’ll be the worst clowns to have ever performed in that hallowed spot.