Thousands of spectators are expected at Chicago’s 53rd annual Pride Parade, marching through Lakeview Sunday.
The parade officially begins at 11 a.m., but organizers and onlookers gathered hours beforehand to set up floats and prepare for the massive event.
This year’s theme is “Pride is Power,” highlighting the role the parade has played in advocating for the LGBTQ+ community in Chicago and the region, according to a press release from the parade’s organizers.
“Now is the time to embrace the power of Pride,” said parade co-coordinator Ron Thomas in a March press release. “Our unified voice empowers us to keep our movement moving forward.”
The first Pride Parade in Chicago was held in 1970, on the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York. Today, Chicago’s annual parade is the largest in the Midwest,. This year’s grand marshals are Fortune Feimster and Jax Smith; Art Johnston and José Pepe Peña; and Myles and Precious Brady-Davis.
In March, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration announced that this year’s parade would be downsized to maintain safety and ensure police presence. The city said the parade would be limited to 125 groups, and the start time would be pushed up to 11 a.m.
The decision was met with backlash, however, from the mayor’s advisory council on LGBTQ+ issues and other community organizations. Following pushback from the advisory council and other groups, Johnson increased the number of groups to 150, a nearly 25% decrease from last year.
This year’s route is also different from previous years, according to the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications. It will begin a few blocks south of its usual starting point, at Sheridan Road and Broadway in Lakeview, and proceed south on Halsted Street, east on Belmont Avenue, south on Broadway and east on Diversey Parkway to Sheridan Road. There will be cooling buses and medical tents along the way.
Sunday’s weather is expected to be breezy with temperatures reaching the mid-70s, according to the National Weather Service Chicago.
Road closures began as early as 7:30 a.m. for staging areas and as early as 8:30 a.m. for the parade route, including Irving Park and Wellington at Broadway and Addison, Grace, and Roscoe at Halsted, according to the city.The city plans to reopen the streets by 4 p.m.