Photos: Chicagoans Go All Out For New Halloween Parade
By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 26, 2015 4:35PM
The first ever Chicago Cultural Mile Halloween Gathering drew crowds to the Loop on Saturday for a family-friendly affair full of costumes, music and dance.
As dusk fell the gathering culminated with a parade that started at South Columbus and East Balbo drives, seeing participants wind their way up to Monroe. A wide variety of the city's cultural institutions marched in the parade, including the Joffrey Ballet, The Art Institute, the louder Than A Bomb young Chicago authors festival, the Field Museum and The Brazilian Cultural Center of Chicago.
Our photographer even caught sight of longtime WXRT radio personality Terri Hemmert being fêted as a Creative Spirit Fellow as part of the parade.
Organizers were pleased by the community's response to the event.
Sharene Shariatzadeh, Executive Director of the Chicago Cultural Mile, told Chicagoist they had close to 4,000 participants in the parade. Their attendance estimates for the festival and the parade combined were 200,000, exceeding organizer’s expectations of 30,000.
The Thriller “flashmob” dance that was supposed to take place at Buckingham Fountain garnered such a huge response organizers decided to make it a component of the actual parade. Lupe Fiasco shared his view of the dance from the sidelines.
Whether you made it out to the city's cultural mile or stayed home prepping your costume for this coming weekend, you can take a look at our gallery of some of our favorite costumes and moments from the parade.