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Philadelphians channel their inner Italian Stallion at Rocky and Adrian look-alike contest

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Philadelphians channel their inner Italian Stallion at Rocky and Adrian look-alike contest
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Philadelphians channel their inner Italian Stallion at Rocky and Adrian look-alike contest

2024-12-07 12:48 Last Updated At:12:50

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Couples who look awkward on skates — and on dates — had a chance to celebrate their cute clumsiness in a Rocky and Adrian look-alike contest at Philadelphia’s RockyFest on Friday.

The evening event at the University of Pennsylvania’s 1923 Ice Rink was meant to echo the pair’s first date in “Rocky.” In the classic 1976 film, the eponymous boxer never actually dons ice skates in the scene, but instead shuffles alongside his best friend Paulie’s sister as she tries to stay upright.

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Contestants of the Rocky and Adrian look-alike stand on Penn Ice Rink during RockyFest in Philadelphia, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)

Contestants of the Rocky and Adrian look-alike stand on Penn Ice Rink during RockyFest in Philadelphia, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)

Jason and Roxanne Carrion, from New York, dress up as Rocky and Adrian for the look-alike contest during the RockyFest at Penn Ice Rink in Philadelphia, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)

Jason and Roxanne Carrion, from New York, dress up as Rocky and Adrian for the look-alike contest during the RockyFest at Penn Ice Rink in Philadelphia, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)

Visitors gather around the Rocky Statue and the “Rocky Steps” during RockyFest 2024 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo Tassanee Vejpongsa)

Visitors gather around the Rocky Statue and the “Rocky Steps” during RockyFest 2024 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo Tassanee Vejpongsa)

FILE - Sylvester Stallone, left, poses with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney in front of the Rocky statue at the Philadelphia Art Museum for a "Creed II" photo op, Friday, April 6, 2018, in Philadelphia.(AP Photo/Michael Perez)

FILE - Sylvester Stallone, left, poses with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney in front of the Rocky statue at the Philadelphia Art Museum for a "Creed II" photo op, Friday, April 6, 2018, in Philadelphia.(AP Photo/Michael Perez)

Visitors gather around the Rocky Statue and the “Rocky Steps” during RockyFest 2024 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo Tassanee Vejpongsa)

Visitors gather around the Rocky Statue and the “Rocky Steps” during RockyFest 2024 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo Tassanee Vejpongsa)

The contest's winning prize was a dinner at South Philadelphia’s iconic Victor Café, where the servers also sing opera, along with a hotel stay and a $250 certificate for a Rocky-themed gift shop.

New York City firefighter Jason Carrion and his wife, Roxanne Carrion, took first place.

“I wanted to do something because we’re the biggest ‘Rocky’ fans, I think, ever. I mean, just look at us,” said Jason Carrion, dressed in a leather jacket and hat identical to Rocky's street wear in the movie.

Roxanne Carrion called the event her dream date. “I’m going ice skating, going to the ‘Rocky’ steps dressing up, and now we’re going to see ‘Rocky’ film at the movie theater. So this has been the perfect date for us,” she said.

She said the film has garnered such widespread appeal because of the “underdog” theme: "It’s an inspirational story that transcends any age or a person, doesn’t it?”

Philadelphia served as a backdrop to the popular “Rocky” franchise, something the city is celebrating nearly 50 years later with a five-day festival that grew out of the inaugural Rocky Day in 2023.

The events this week have included a mural unveiling, movie marathons, talks on the enduring appeal of the Sylvester Stallone character and a bus tour of favorite scenes.

Meanwhile, a second cast of the Rocky statue was unveiled at the top of the Rocky steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art — the original was featured in “Rocky III” — and will remain there through Dec. 31.

“This statue represents everything that the Rocky films stand for: resilience, heart, and the unbreakable bond between Rocky and the people of Philadelphia,” Stallone said in a statement.

Contestants of the Rocky and Adrian look-alike stand on Penn Ice Rink during RockyFest in Philadelphia, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)

Contestants of the Rocky and Adrian look-alike stand on Penn Ice Rink during RockyFest in Philadelphia, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)

Jason and Roxanne Carrion, from New York, dress up as Rocky and Adrian for the look-alike contest during the RockyFest at Penn Ice Rink in Philadelphia, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)

Jason and Roxanne Carrion, from New York, dress up as Rocky and Adrian for the look-alike contest during the RockyFest at Penn Ice Rink in Philadelphia, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)

Visitors gather around the Rocky Statue and the “Rocky Steps” during RockyFest 2024 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo Tassanee Vejpongsa)

Visitors gather around the Rocky Statue and the “Rocky Steps” during RockyFest 2024 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo Tassanee Vejpongsa)

FILE - Sylvester Stallone, left, poses with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney in front of the Rocky statue at the Philadelphia Art Museum for a "Creed II" photo op, Friday, April 6, 2018, in Philadelphia.(AP Photo/Michael Perez)

FILE - Sylvester Stallone, left, poses with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney in front of the Rocky statue at the Philadelphia Art Museum for a "Creed II" photo op, Friday, April 6, 2018, in Philadelphia.(AP Photo/Michael Perez)

Visitors gather around the Rocky Statue and the “Rocky Steps” during RockyFest 2024 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo Tassanee Vejpongsa)

Visitors gather around the Rocky Statue and the “Rocky Steps” during RockyFest 2024 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo Tassanee Vejpongsa)

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Panic swept through eastern Congo’s second largest city on Saturday as residents fled by the thousands, scrambling to escape the looming advance of Rwanda-backed rebels. Amid chaos and looting, Bukavu braced for what comes next.

A day after M23 fighters entered the outskirts of Bukavu — a city of about 1.3 million people that lies 63 miles (101 kilometers) south of rebel-held Goma — some streets were flooded by residents attempting to leave and looters filling flour sacks with what they could find.

Most people waited in their home, shocked by what had filled vacuum left by Congolese soldiers who had abandoned their posts.

“They set fire to the ammunition they were unable to take with them,” said Alain Iragi, among the residents who fled in search of safety on Saturday.

Reports and social media videos showed the region's factories pillaged and prisons emptied while electricity remained on and communication lines open.

“It’s a disgrace. Some citizens have fallen victim to stray bullets. Even some soldiers still present in the city are involved en masse in these cases of looting,” a 25-year-old resident of a neighborhood being looted told The Associated Press.

The Congo River Alliance, a coalition of rebel groups that includes M23, blamed Congolese troops and their allies from local militia and neighboring Burundi for the disorder in Bukavu.

“We call on the population to remain in control of their city and not give in to panic,” Lawrence Kanyuka, the alliance's spokesperson, said in a statement on Saturday.

M23, a militia backed by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of Congo’s mineral-rich east.

Congolese authorities and international observers have accused it of sexual violence, forced conscription and summary executions. M23's southward expansion encompasses more territory than rebels had previously seized and poses an unprecedented challenge to the central government in Kinshasa.

The rebellion underway has killed at least 2,000 people in eastern Congo and stranded hundreds of thousands of displaced. At least 350,000 internally displaced people are without shelter, the U.N. and Congolese authorities have said.

The rebels on Friday also claimed to have seized a second airport in the region, in the town of Kavumu outside Bukavu.

The AP could not confirm who was in control of the strategically important airport, which Congolese forces have used to resupply troops and humanitarian groups to import aid. The Congo River Alliance claimed on Saturday that M23 had taken control the airport to prevent Congolese forces from launch airstrikes against civilians.

Government officials and local civil society leaders did not immediately comment, though Congo's Communications Ministry said the rebels had violated ceasefire agreements and attacked Congolese troops working to avoid urban warfare and violence in Bukavu.

The reports of looting and disorder come a day after residents told AP that soldiers in Kavumu — the airport town north of Bukavu — had abandoned their positions to head toward the city. The chain of events mirror what transpired last month in the lead-up to the M23's capture of Goma. Congo’s military, despite its size and funding, has long been hindered by shortcomings in training and coordination and recurring reports of corruption.

International leaders are expected to discuss the conflict at the African Union summit in Ethiopia this weekend as Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi continues to plead the international community to intervene to contain the rebels from advancing. However, little progress has been made since the government dismissed a ceasefire that M23 declared last wee unilaterally as false.

“Regional escalation must be avoided at all costs,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in Addis Ababa. "The sovereignty and territorial integrity of (Congo) must be respected.”

Metz reported from Rabat, Morocco. Associated Press writer Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda contributed to this report.

FILE - M23 rebels escort government soldiers and police who surrendered to an undisclosed location in Goma, Democratic republic of the Congo, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa, File)

FILE - M23 rebels escort government soldiers and police who surrendered to an undisclosed location in Goma, Democratic republic of the Congo, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa, File)

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