CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Spectators have been encouraged to celebrate the year of the rabbit on Sunday in Chicago’s Chinatown, but organizers want them to leave one thing at home.
Firecrackers, a tradition at Lunar New Year parades, have been discouraged for the last several years over insurance and safety concerns, said Gene Lee, founder of Chinatown Special Events.
The weekend after the Monterey shooting, though, Lee emphasized the message again, so the thousands expected to gather along Cermak Road and Wentworth Avenue don’t mistake the sound for gunshots.
Extra police officers will join the floats, mayoral candidates, lion teams and dragons at the 1 p.m. parade.
“Not that we don’t have officers when we have an event, but probably more, under the circumstances, along with plainclothes officers that’ll blend in with the crowd,” he said.
Lee said he hasn’t heard of any cancellations and expects people to go on with their regular celebrations.
“We’re welcoming in the year of the rabbit, and then we’re just going to live our lives — do what we normally do,” he said.
The 2023 Lunar New Year parade will mark 111 years at this location, after Chinatown moved from Clark and Van Buren Streets.
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