Chicago Columbus Day Parade October 11
The Columbus Day Parade celebrates the historic voyage of Christopher Columbus to America and Italian-American culture.
When: Monday, October 11,2021. Parade steps off at 1:00PM. The festivities begin with a 9am mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, 1224 W. Lexington Street. A wreath laying ceremony 10:30AM in Arrigo Park, 801 S. Loomis St. at the Columbus statue.
Where: Parade, State Street from Lake to Van Buren. Free.
The Columbus Day Parade is sponsored by the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans.
Columbus Day Chairman, JCCIA President and other dignitaries from city, state and the Italian community will march in the Parade. The Columbus Day Parade has over 150 units – bands, floats (Nina, Ointa and Santa Maria!) and marchers. All ethnicities are invited to join the parade.
If the weather is nasty a good place to watch is from the AMC Block 37 theater, 108 N. State 4th floor. Go toward the restaurant area. You used to be able to enter that area without a ticket. I have no idea if it’s accessible in 2021.
Cheap Italian food around the parade
Aurelios, 1212 S. Michigan, (312) 374-4459. I’ve had this pizza at the home-base in Homewood and it was delicious. They have a two story rooftop per their website.
Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, 805 S State St, (312) 786-1000. Delicious thin crust pies, pasta dishes and the Malnati salad.
Quartino, 626 N State St, (312) 698-5000. When the parade ends take the number 29 State Street bus north. Get off at Illinois where the bus turns east toward Navy Pier and walk the couple blocks to this fabulous small plates and good low cost wine joint.
Chicago Columbus Day Parade October 11 – Related
About Columbus Day
Per Brittanica.com, Columbus Day (originally October 12; since 1971 the second Monday in October) commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus on October 12, 1492, in the New World. Columbus was a native of Genoa, Italy, and over the years Italian Americans took up the cause of honoring his achievement.
The 300th anniversary of his landing was celebrated in New York City in 1792 by the Society of St. Tammany, or Columbian Order, and the 400th anniversary, in 1892, by presidential proclamation nationwide.
During the latter half of the 19th century, the day began to be celebrated in cities with large numbers of Italian Americans, and in 1937 it became a national holiday by presidential proclamation. The day came to be marked by parades, often including floats depicting the ships of Columbus, and by public ceremonies and festivities.
By the quincentennial in 1992, the holiday was an occasion for discussing the European conquest of American Indians, and some people objected to celebrating the event and proposed alternatives, among them Indigenous Peoples Day.
