Bud Billiken, Once Again, Draws A Crowd
One of the signs that summer is coming to an end is the annual Bud Billiken Parade on Chicago's South Side.
It happened again on Saturday as tens of thousands flocked to Martin Luther King Drive as the parade marched from 39th Street down to Washington Park.
Politicians, dance teams, drill teams, police officers, firefighters, educators and students were among those who marched in the parade, while many Chicagoans held barbecues along the parade route which passes through the historic Bronzeville neighborhood.
Chicagoans did not get to see just this year's parade but also past parades, as the South Side Home Movie Project was showing home movies of previous parades on a moving screen during the parade.
Jacqueline Stewart is the founder of the South Side Home Movie Project and told WBBM, "when you bring footage of the Bud Billiken Parade from the 1940s and 50s out into the actual streets, South Park Way is what Martin Luther King Drive used to be, you see the same buildings and especially you see the dancers and the community leaders, it's really a beautiful way to bring past and present together."
This was the 97th year of the back to school celebration.
The first day of school for Chicago Public Schools students is Monday, August 24th for Kindergarten through High School. Pre-K students start August 25th.
