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! |
gswafford
said,
February 2, 2009 at 7:57 am
Thanks for sharing, Ben.
Sorry to say, that is just plain sad. It looks more like a lame St. Patrick’s Day parade than it does a celebration for the Chinese New Year.
Jeremy Yeh
said,
February 2, 2009 at 8:16 am
The characters on the banner in the 12th pic are 恭贺新禧、***协会、福、牛年行好运、中国***.
kilt的中文是（苏格兰方格呢）短裙。
mike dunn
said,
February 2, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Nice job, Ben. Good to see you again. I remember reading your ‘30 days in a chinese barbershop’. Bravo! Didn’t realize you were a fellow Chicagolander. Best, Mike Dunn
Benjamin Ross
said,
February 2, 2009 at 8:53 pm
@ gswafford
I know what you mean. Over-commercialization aside, the parade was actually relatively entertaining, as far as parades go. Although I couldn’t help but feel like I was inside a Simpsons episode throughout much of it.
@ mike dunn
Technically, I’m not exactly a Chicagolander. I grew up in Kansas City, but moved to Chicago after I came back to the US in ‘07. I do really enjoy living in the Windy City however, and could definitely see myself settling down here some day. I’ve always felt like Chicago is the only place on the planet which is both worldly and cosmopolitan, yet completely Midwestern. For the forseeable future at least, it’s home.
Tex
said,
February 10, 2009 at 1:20 am
“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.”
I laughed. And realized it would have been the same for me.