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
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