Chicago Pride Parade Explained

Chicago Pride Parade
Status:Active
Genre:Pride parade
Location:Chicago
Country:USA
Founders:-->
Participants:+1 million
Or Sponsors:-->

The Chicago Pride Parade, also colloquially (and formerly) called the Chicago Gay Pride Parade or PRIDE Chicago, is an annual pride parade held on the last Sunday of June in Chicago, Illinois in the United States. It is considered a culmination of the larger Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in Chicago, as promulgated by the Chicago City Council and Mayor of Chicago. Chicago's Pride Parade is one of the largest by attendance in the world.[1] The event takes place outside and celebrates equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, which is also known as the celebration of LGBTQ rights.

Background

The first parade was organized on Saturday, June 27, 1970, as a march[2] from Washington Square Park ("Bughouse Square") to the Water Tower, but then many of the participants spontaneously marched on to the Civic Center Plaza.[3] For many years, the parade was held only in Lake View East, a neighborhood enclave of the Lakeview community area. Recent parades have expanded their outreach (and ability to handle crowds) by extending the route into the Uptown neighborhood, beginning at the corner of Broadway and Montrose. The parade then proceeds south on Broadway to Halsted, continues south on Halsted to Belmont, then east on Belmont to Broadway and finally south again on Broadway to Cannon Drive and Lincoln Park.

With the increasing political participation of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans and the community's relatively high financial resources through political action groups and as individual donors, Illinois politicians have increased their presence at the Chicago Pride Parade. Both the Illinois Democratic and Republican parties have been heavily represented, including by former Governor Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, and former Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, a Republican. Both had strong support from many gay and lesbian voters.

On June 28, 2009, more than 500,000 spectators watched the 40th Annual Chicago Pride Parade. Among the entries were several marching bands, dance troupes, twirlers, and many political figures. The 2010 parade featured an appearance from the Chicago Blackhawks' Brent Sopel and the Stanley Cup[4] as part of the Chicago Gay Hockey Association's float. Sopel appeared in the parade to honor Brendan Burke, the gay son of the Maple Leafs' GM Brian Burke. Due to Chicago being one of the largest cities with a massive sports community, some other special guests have attended the Gay Pride Parade in Chicago, those include David Kopay (NFL running back), Billy Bean (major league outfielder) and Greg Louganis (Olympic diver).[5]

The 2011 parade included 250 entries and was attended by over 800,000 spectators, almost double the previous year, causing massive overcrowding and resulted in a reorganization of the parade route for the 2012 parade. Starting in 2013 the Chicago Pride Parade has reached over one million people each year, and the number continues to grow.[6]

In October 2019, Richard Pfeiffer, director of the Parade since 1974, passed away.[7]

The parade was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 parade was postponed to October 3, 2021, in the hopes that an in-person parade could be held. Due to the Delta variant, the 2021 parade was cancelled. The 2022 pride parade continued with its original scheduling.[8]

Pre-Parade Celebration

The year 2019 marked the 19th Annual Pre-Parade Celebration, also known as Chicago's two day long Pride Festival.[9] 2019's Chicago Pride Festival saw over 100,000 people, the festival is held on the Saturday and Sunday before the Pride Parade. Each year there is a suggested ten dollar donation while entering the festival for LGBTQ fundraisers, events, etc. The festival is open rain or shine and held in Boystown, a neighborhood of Lake View, Chicago. The streets are blocked off from traffic so the celebration can take place throughout the streets all weekend long. Each year there are multiple different performers performing on the three main stages at the festival. Some of 2021's performers included Betty Who, LeAnn Rimes, Pabllo Vittar, Alex Newell and Inaya Day. The Pre-Parade Celebration is just one of the many events held in Boystown in the month of June.

Dates and Attendance

Chicago Pride Parade Details
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Weather

The Chicago Pride Parade is held on the last Sunday in June, so the weather is usually warm. The average high temperature at O'Hare Airport for the parade day since 1970 is 83 degrees; the average low is 61 degrees; and 22% of parade days have seen measurable precipitation. The warmest pride parade was 99 degrees in 1983, and the wettest pride parade was in 1978 when 0.92 inches of rain fell.[31]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2022-06-02 . 12 Biggest Pride Parades In The World . 2023-06-04 . Grunge . en-US.
  2. News: Gay Liberation Stages March to Civic Center . . June 28, 1970 . A3 . June 9, 2019 . .
  3. Web site: Outspoken: Chicago's Free Speech Tradition . Newberry Library . September 7, 2008 . February 17, 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20050217142658/http://www.newberry.org/outspoken/exhibit/objectlist_section3.html . dead .
  4. News: Sports' Most Macho Trophy Shows New Kind of Pride . . Littke . Jim . . June 25, 2010. April 24, 2017.
  5. News: Greenfield. Beth. 2007-05-25. A Month of Coming-Out Parties (Published 2007). en-US. The New York Times. 2021-02-18. 0362-4331.
  6. Web site: The World's Biggest Pride Parades. June 4, 2018. The Active Times.
  7. Web site: Richard Pfeiffer, coordinator of Chicago Pride Parade since 1974, dies at 70. October 8, 2019. ABC7 Chicago.
  8. Web site: 2022-06-26 . Photos: 2022 Chicago Pride Parade . 2023-05-24 . NBC Chicago . en-US.
  9. Web site: Chicago Pride Fest 2019 - Pre Parade Celebration. Chicago Pride Fest. en-US. 2019-06-27.
  10. News: Sukie . de la Croix . November 26, 2009 . Gay Power: A History of Chicago Pride . Chicago Free Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20091208155326/http://www.chicagofreepress.com/node/1945 . December 8, 2009 .
  11. News: Daley is first mayor to lead gays' parade . . June 26, 1989 . Lori . Rotenberk .
  12. News: Tracy . Baim . 2003-07-02 . 375,000+ at 2003 Pride Parade . Windy City Times .
  13. Web site: Kevin . Wayne . June 28, 2004 . Gay Chicago Celebrates Pride . ChicagoPride.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20070716231827/http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/ArticleID/2044404 . July 16, 2007 .
  14. Web site: Kevin . Wayne . June 27, 2005 . Chicago Celebrates 36th Annual Gay Pride Parade . https://web.archive.org/web/20060629152004/http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/3121081 . ChicagoPride.com . June 29, 2006 .
  15. Web site: Chicago Sun-Times . June 27, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080704150913/http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-gaypride26.html . July 4, 2008 . dead .
  16. Web site: Chicago Tribune news | Registration . . June 25, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070628204806/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070624gay-pride,1,2647856.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true . June 28, 2007 . dead .
  17. Web site: Archived copy . June 30, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090415155548/http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/1031266,CST-NWS-pride30.article . April 15, 2009 . dead .
  18. Web site: 450,000 on hand for diverse mix of stars in Pride Parade . Chicago Sun-Times . June 29, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100701082812/http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2439382,CST-NWS-pride28.article . July 1, 2010 . dead .
  19. Web site: Chicago Annual Pride Parade . https://web.archive.org/web/20100705231612/http://www.chicagopridecalendar.org/parade.shtml . PRIDEChicago . 2010 . July 5, 2010 .
  20. Web site: Pride Parade 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110629181222/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-110626-pride-parade-2011-photo,0,7061831.photogallery . Chicago Tribune . June 29, 2011 .
  21. News: Expanded Pride Parade Draws Record Number . Dan . Hinkel . June 24, 2012 . Chicago Tribune .
  22. News: 1 Million Celebrate at Pride Parade . Casey . Toner . . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714200717/http://www.suntimes.com/21058648-761/44th-annual-pride-parade-draws-1-million.html . July 14, 2014 .
  23. Web site: Chicago's 44th Annual Gay Pride Parade (6/30/13) . https://web.archive.org/web/20130616100816/http://chicago.gopride.com/calendar/event.cfm/id/160854 . ChicagoPride.com . June 16, 2013 .
  24. News: Kelly . Bauer . Alex . Parker . amp . June 29, 2014 . Pride Parade 2014: 'You're Not Just a Second-Class Citizen' . DNAinfo . https://web.archive.org/web/20150627014807/http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140629/boystown/chicago-pride-parade-2014 . June 27, 2015 .
  25. Web site: Estimated 1 Million People Attend Chicago Pride Parade on City's North Side . June 29, 2015 . ABC7 Chicago . Chicago . .
  26. News: Chicago Pride Parade Draws an Estimated 1 Million People . June 27, 2016 . Melissa . Berman . Chicago . .
  27. News: Cate . Cauguiran . June 26, 2017 . 48th Annual Chicago Pride Parade Held on North Side . ABC7 Chicago . Chicago . WLS-TV .
  28. Web site: Grand Marshal announced for Chicago's 49th Pride Parade . May 18, 2018 . Go Pride .
  29. News: Jeremy . Ross . June 24, 2018 . Big Crowds Packed Chicago Pride Parade . CBS Chicago . Chicago . .
  30. News: Lightfoot Named Honorary Grand Marshal of 2019 Chicago Pride Parade . ChicagoPride.com . en . May 29, 2019 .
  31. https://www.weather.gov/lot/June_Daily_Records_Chicago June Daily Weather Records for Chicago Illinois

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