Everything you need to know for Chicago Pride Parade 2022

Sat. June 25, 2022 9:02 AM by GoPride.com News Staff

over one million people are expected to celebrate pride 2022

photo credit // clinton bigelow
After a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Chicago Pride Parade is back this Sunday, and is expected to be bigger than ever. 

“I strongly believe that after a two-year hiatus, this Pride Parade will be the largest in Chicago history,” said 44th Ward Ald. Tom Tunney. 

City officials expect the parade to be bigger than ever with over a million people expected at the celebration in the Lakeview and Uptown neighborhoods, including the LGBTQ enclave popularly known as 'Boystown.'

Planning to attend? Here's everything you need to know.

ROUTE AND TIME: The parade starts at 12 Noon at the corner of Broadway and Montrose. The parade featuring 154 colorful entries will then travel the 21-block parade route south on Broadway; then south on Halsted; then east on Belmont; then south on Broadway; then east on Diversey to Cannon Drive.

There will be ten cross-over streets along the parade route: Montrose at Broadway, Irving Park at Broadway, Wellington at Broadway, Barry at Broadway, Oakdale at Broadway, Addison at Halsted, Grace at Halsted, Roscoe at Halsted, Aldine at Halsted, and Cornelia at Halsted.  

LESS ALCOHOL, MORE SECURITY: Security will be tight again this year. Open container rules will continue to be strictly enforced, with 170 private security workers patrolling the parade and police on every corner. Penalties include, but are not limited to, $1000+ tickets being issued, and you could have to throw out your booze.

STREET CLOSURES: Street closures should start at 8 a.m. for staging areas, with parade route closures beginning at 9:30 a.m. or as the crowd dictates for safety issues. Closures include Montrose, Irving Park and Wellington at Broadway, as well as Addison, Grace and Roscoe at Halsted. Streets should reopen by 8 p.m., or when deemed safe to do so.

TRANSPORTATION: Public transportation is highly recommended. The CTA will be providing extra service and longer trains on the L, and several buses will be re-routed on parade day. Bicycles will not be permitted on CTA trains for most of the day, and strollers and carts must be folded before boarding all CTA buses and trains. 

The nearest L stops are: Wilson, Sheridan, Addison or Belmont on the Red Line and Southport, Belmont, Wellington, or Diversey on the Brown Line. Bus lines are 8, 22, 36, 80, or 152.

The CTA encourages riders to avoid the Belmont station, which will likely be crowded.

Metra will provide extra trains on the BNSF, UP North, UP Northwest and UP West Lines. Other lines that operate on Sundays will offer extra seating capacity.

PARKING: There won't be much street parking available near the assembly or parade routes, so if you're driving be prepared to park outside of the immediate area. Watch for temporary no parking signs. 

WEATHER: Sunday's forecast calls for sunny skies with a high temperature around 80 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. 

Cooling busses will be located on Halsted, south of Belmont; Addison, west of Halsted; Belmont, east of Broadway; Wilton, north of Belmont; Buena, west of Broadway.

BEST VIEWING: The Belmont and Addison stations (and the surrounding area) tend to become the most crowded, so you are encouraged to consider watching the parade from the other parts of the route, including areas toward the start of the route—such as Broadway, south of Montrose—which are served by both the nearby Wilson and Sheridan stations on the Red Line.

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE: If you need first aid, the Chicago Fire Department has first aid stations at 901 W. Addison St., 765 W. Roscoe St., 3165 N. Halsted St., 561 W. Surf St. and 802 W. Roscoe St. There will also be a public safety command center on Belmont Avenue between Clark and Halsted.

NEEDS AND SPECIAL NEEDS: Portable restrooms will be stationed along both the parade line-up street and the parade route. For seniors or those who need wheelchair accessible sites, head near 600 W. Diversey. It's towards the end of the parade route and typically is less crowded than other streets. Many arrive early to set up chairs and claim their spots. This area also has bathrooms for those with special needs.

HISTORY: Pride Parades commemorate the Stonewall rebellion that took place on June 28,1969, when patrons of a New York City gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, fought back during a raid by police. At that time, gay bars were frequently raided across the country. That night, patrons fought back and street demonstrations continued for several days. During that week, gay liberation groups were formed, thus giving birth to the modern-day LGBTQ+ rights movement.

Pride Parades are staged in over 200+ cities worldwide in more than 125+ cities in the United States with at least 12 taking place on the last weekend in June every year. In recent years, many are staged in small towns across the country and recently in various suburbs of Chicago, including Buffalo Grove and Aurora, Illinois. 

The annual Chicago Pride Parade is coordinated by PRIDEChicago under the direction of Tim Frye. This year's 51st annual Chicago Pride Parade is dedicated to Frye's late husband Richard Pfeiffer, who coordinated the parade since 1974. Pfeiffer passed away in October 2019.

Related: A look back at the Chicago Pride Parade: 1970 - 2022

2022 Chicago Pride Parade Lineup

1.  Intro-Banner/Color Guard (Scouts for Equality) – car/walkers

2.  Mayor Lori Lightfoot (Honorary Grand Marshal) w/family – walkers

3.  Governor J.B. Pritzker -w/walkers

4.  Banner – Richard Pfeiffer

5.  Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame w/McKinsey & Co. (sponsor) – (Organization Grand Marshal) float/car/walkers

6.  Gary Chichester (Legacy Grand Marshal) car

7.  Gerber Hart Library and Archives /Hyatt (sponsor) – (Organization Grand Marshal) float/walkers

8.  Illinois Holocaust Museum & Educational Center – (Organization Grand Marshal) trolley/walkers

9.  Nettelhorst School – golf cart/walkers & 9A – Near North Montessori school – bus/walkers

10.  Francis W. Parker School & 10A Catherine Cook School – car/walkers

11.  Lycee Francais de Chicago – walkers & 11A Bernard Zell Anshe Emet School reps – walkers

12.  Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles band/van

13.  Grab Magazine – float

14.  Chicago Gender Society – float

15.  American Veterans for Equal Rights – car/walkers

16.  Chicago Fire Department – vehicle/walkers &16A GOAL walkers & 16B Travis Hooker Elgin -car

17.  Equality Illinois Institute – float/walkers

18  Human Rights Campaign & 18A Erie Family Health walkers

19.  City of Chicago – float/walkers

20.  City Officials & City Department Reps – walkers

21.  Free Mom Hugs -

22.  ABC 7 Chicago - float

23.  County Officials & County Department Reps – walkers

24.  PFLAG – trolley/walkers & 24A AbbVie - walkers

25.  Folia Brasil &dancers & 25A Heels & Hardhats – vehicle w/walkers

26.  State Officials & Department Reps – walkers

27.  Uptown Chamber of Commerce float/walkers

28.  Department of Children and Family Services – van/walkers

29.  Federal & International Officials & Departments – van/walkers

30.  Chicago White Sox – Van/walkers

31.  LGBTQ Impact – car/walkers & 31A Enjoy Illinois office of Tourism - float

32.  Entry lines up on Sheridan (from Montrose to Sunnyside) – Motorcycles incl. Organized Chaos, Bikes&Micsc &State of Illinois float/walkers & Lambda Lega float/walkers

33.  Entry lines up on Sheridan (from Sunnyside to Wilson) – McDonald's – float/walkers & Expedia van/walkers &Veterinary Specialty Center – float/walkers

34.  Howard Brown – float/walkers

35.  Target 10 o/b/o Johnson & Johnson - walkers

36.  Chicago Black Men's Caucus – walkers

37.  Balloons by Tommy – Coach bus/walkers

38.  Rush University Medical Center – float/walkers

39.  bp PLC – trolley/walkers

40.  Chicago Bulls & BMO Harris – Benny's van

41.  Chicago Bulls & BMO Harris – float

42.  CBS Chicago car/walk & 42A Mini of Glencoe

43.  TPAN van/walk & 43A Rainbow Mensa float/walkers

44.  Gerber Collision & Glass – pickup truck/walkers

45.  WGN TV – float/walkers & 45A Fermi Lab walkers

46.  Chi-Town Squares pickup/dancers

47.  Baton Show Lounge – float car will follow

48.  Steve Quick Jeweler & Chicago Pride Guard – float/walkers

49.  Ferrara Candy/CGMC float/walkers

50.  Center on Halsted & US Bank – float/walkers

51.  Lorde, Ruskin Bates – float

52.  Asians Friends float & 52A Trikone float

53.  Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches - walkers

54.  Chicago Teacher's Union – float/walkers

55.  AIA Chicago – walkers Second City Outlaws - truck/

56.  Buffalo Grove Pride & other suburban pride groups – jeep/walkers

57.  Kenosha Pride – flatbed/walkers

58.  Puerto Rican Cultural Center – float/walkers

59.  Keshet & orgs & congregations – walkers

60.  WTTW, WFMT, WBEZ Chicago Public Media – walkers & 60A JCC sml school bus

61.  Sidetrack with Chicago Spirit Brigade – float/walkers

62.  Iron Galaxy Studios – walkers

63.  Project VIDA – passenger van/walkers

64.  Nordstrom – walkers & 64A Windy City Sings truck/walkers

65.  Discover Financial Services – walkers

66.  Fifth Third Bank – trolley/walkers

67.  Broadway In Chicago – float/walkers

68.  Goose Island Beer Company – float/walkers

69.  Chime – walkers

70.  iHeart Media Miller – float/walkers

71.  iHeart Media CPS – float/walkers

72.  iHeart Media WGCI – float/walkers

73.  iHeart Media KISS FM – float/walkers

74.  DePaul University – van/walkers

75.  Chicago Boyz & Girlz – dd bus

76.  Newsweb Radio WCPT – float

77.  Roscoe's – Flatbed/walkers

78.  Tyson Foods – float/walkers

79.  WGN Radio w/Jewel Osco – pickup truck/walkers

80.  Univision Chicago – float/walkers

81.  Blue Cross Blue Shield – float/walkers

82.  Comcast NBC Universal – float/walkers

83.  FCB Chicago – walkers?

84.  Obama Foundation – Float/walkers & 84A Chicago Women in Trades – flatbed/walkers

85.  Firebrand Second City Country Dance – van/dancers

86.  MedVet Chicago – Walkers

87.  WW Grainger – trolley/walkers

88  Chicago Cubs – float/walkers

89  Chicago Bears Football Club/CMSA – van/walkers

90  Chicago Fire FC – truck/walkers

91  Athletic Alliance of Chicago – float/walkers

92  Chicago Gay Hockey Association (CGHA) – car/walkers

93  Chicago Dragons Rugby Football Club – car/walkers

94  Alcala's Western Wear – float/walkers

95  Macy's – trolley/balloons/walkers

96  Meta – float/walkers

97.  Thousand Waves - walkers

99.  American Airlines – float/walkers

99  Southwest Airlines – Ford Explorer/walkers

100.  United Airlines – walkers

101  National Gay Pilots Assoc. – float/walkers

102  Planned Parenthood of Illinois – walkers

103  Actors Equity Association – walkers

104  Robert Jeffrey Salon/Jeffrey LaMort Salon Group – float/walkers

105  Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center – trolley/walkers

106  Thresholds – float/walkers

107  Huntington Bank – ice cream truck/walkers

108  Dream Town Realty – float/walkers

109  Elmhurst University – van/walkers

110  Safer Foundation – tbd

111  LA Tan – float/walkers

112  Sherwin Williams – walkers

113  Verilife Cannabis Dispensary – van/walkers

114  T-Mobile LLC – float/walkers

115  Accenture – bus/walkers

116  101.9 the MIX – float/walkers

117  Bank of America – float/walkers

118  WFLD-TV – truck

119  JPMorganChase – trolley/walkers

120  CW26 Chicago – dd bus/walkers

121  Zeller Realty Corporation – car/walkers

122  Chicago Leather & Fetish Pride – truck/walkers

123  Liberty Mutual – walkers

124  WXRT – trolley

125  Illinois Department of Human Rights –

126  Deloitte LLP – trolley/walkers

127  EY – walkers

128  Foreskin Pride

129  Abbott Pride Network – float/walkers

130  Astellas – float/walkers

131  Leather64Ten – float/walkers

132  United Way of Metro Chicago – float/walkers

133  Jones Lang LaSalle JLL – float/walkers

134  Zurich North America – walkers

135  University of Chicago Bio Sciences – bus/walkersP

136  Northwestern University – trolley/walkers

137  1871 – walkers

138  Salesforce – float/walkers

139  Wendy's – float/walkers

140  Neighborhood Loans – trolley/walkers

141  PricewaterhouseCoopers – car/walkers

142  Arcus Behavioral Health & Wellness van/walkers

143  Amazon – float/walkers

144  Prime Care Health & others – walkers

145  Gateway Foundation – walkers

146  Cushman & Wakefield – trolley/walkers

147  Applied Systems – walkers

148  KPMG dd bus/walkers

149  ComEd – truck/walkers

150  Local 881- float/walkers

151  Walgreens - trolley

152  Charlie's/My Buddy – flatbed/car

153  Elevate K12- walkers

154   Kraft Heinz - weinermobile
 

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