02.02.09
A Chicago Chinese Spring Festival Parade (in blog format)
In addition to being Super Bowl Sunday, today was the annual Chicago Chinatown Parade. I’ve never actually blogged a parade before, so here goes.
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| Last year’s parade was witnessed by a miniscule crowd and in abbreviated form due to sub-zero temperatures (that’s sub zero farenheit). This year, with temperatures in the 30’s, the turnout was huge. The only other time I’ve seen a single “L” train stop so crowded was on election night. |
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| Wentworth Street, the main thoroughfare in Chinatown is lined with onlookers, and an especially large number of small children lighting off whipper snappers. |
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| Performers gear up for the parade set to start at 1 o’clock sharp. |
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| Police line in place |
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| Mexican guys with Obama hats sell cotton candy to the spectators. |
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| Swarms of onlookers eagerly await the impending parade. |
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| And the parade begins… …care of Macy’s. |
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| Dragons & Dragons & Dragons, Oh My! |
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| We take a small moment to remember Western Union is (as the Chinese characters indicate) the world’s fastest way to send money. |
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| Floats… I hope they’re throwing out hong bao’s |
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| Presumably local dignitaries…Mister and Miss Chinatown 1982? |
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| More banners, these traditional characters are a little to small for my astigmatic eyes to comprehend. Can anybody read them? |
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| A Chinese New Year Parade wouldn’t be the same without a marching band, would it? |
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| Another float, this one sponsored by the Chinatown Parking Corporation |
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| Another float with cute children. |
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| Firetrucks! It was at this point I was realizing that had I been 5 years old, this parade would have been shaping up to be one of the all-time highlights of my short existence. |
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| An Irish bagpipe troop! |
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| Anybody know how to say “kilt” in Chinese? |
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| The Chicago Guzngzhou Association |
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| Gong Hay Fat Choy! Even with the recent droves of Mandarin speaking immigrants, Chicago’s Chinatown is still a predominantly Cantonese speaking community. |
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| Taipei Economic and Cultural Association, along with their USA flare. |
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| Cook County State’s Attorney?!?!? |
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| They’re lovin’ it. |
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| Remember when I said if I were a 5-year-old I would be having the time of my life? Well, take that original excitement times a lucky 8! |
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| military |
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| make that two marching bands |
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| Have a Happy Chinese New Year, from all of us in Chicago! |