The 2024 Chicago Pride Parade returns for its 53rd year on June 30, capping off a month’s worth of Pride Month celebrations across Chicago.
Hundreds of thousands of people will flock to the North Side to watch the Chicago Pride Parade, and with that comes a series of temporary parking bans, CTA bus reroutes and more. This year’s Pride Parade also sees a few changes this year aimed at reducing its strain on the city’s resources.
The parade will step off at 11 a.m. from the intersection of West Sheridan Road and North Broadway in Lake View. That’s one hour earlier and a few blocks south of the parade’s previous starting time and location.
From there, it will wind southbound through Lake View, ending at West Diversey Parkway and North Cannon Drive.
Participation in this year’s parade has also been capped at 150 entries, down from the 200 groups that marched last year, in an effort to keep the event within a three-hour window, city officials have said.
Read through Windy City Times’ guide, based on details shared by PrideChicago and Ald. Bennett Lawson’s office (44th Ward), on how to be prepared.
The parade route
From Broadway and West Sheridan, the parade will head south along Broadway and immediately onto Halsted Street, according to PrideChicago, which organizes the parade. From there, it will head south toward the 3800 block of Halsted, where it will turn onto Belmont Avenue heading East.
The parade makes a turn at Broadway, heading south toward Diversey, where it turns eastbound to end at Diversey and North Cannon Drive, according to parade organizers.
The busiest stretch of the parade tends to be along North Halsted Street from Belmont to Addison. Anyone wishing to watch the parade from there is encouraged to arrive early.
Parade organizers said the parade stretch along Diversey tends to be less crowded, making it popular among people with limited mobility or other physical challenges. It’s also near the accessible portable restrooms, which will be at 600 W. Diversey.
For those participating in the parade, there will be four staging areas:
- Sheridan from Sheffield Avenue to Lake Shore Drive
- Broadway from Irving Park Road to Grace Street
- Clarendon Avenue from Cuyler Avenue to Broadway
- Fremont Street from Irving Park to Sheridan
Parade spectators can cross through to the other side of the parade at the following intersections:
- Addison and Halsted streets
- Cornelia Avenue and Halsted
- Buckingham Place and Halsted
- Briar Place and Broadway
- Wellington Avenue and Broadway
Street closures and parking bans
Some streets surrounding the parade route will be closed for the event, according to Lawson’s office.
Parking bans will start at 2 a.m. June 30 and continue throughout most of the day. Parking ban enforcement starts at 5 a.m.
The following streets will see parking bans from 2 a.m. to 8 p.m. on June 30:
- Both sides of Broadway from Irving Park to Waveland
- Both sides of Halsted from Sheridan to Waveland
- Both sides of Broadway from Melrose to Diversey
- Both sides of Diversey from Broadway 100ft west of Clark to Cannon Drive
- Both sides of Waveland from Halsted to Broadway
- Both sides of Racine from Wellington to Belmont
- Both sides of Grace from Pine Grove to Fremont West side of Wilton from Belmont to 3245 N Wilton South side of Cuyler from Clarendon to Broadway
- Both sides of Sheridan from Sheffield to Inner LSD
- Both sides of Clarendon from Broadway to Bittersweet West side of Clarendon from Bittersweet to Buena
- Both sides of Fremont from Irving Park to Sheridan
These streets will have parking bans from 2 a.m. to 9 p.m. one June 30:
- Both sides of Lake Shore Drive West from Cannon Drive to Diversey
- Both sides of Cannon Drive from Diversey to Fullerton
- Both sides of Diversey from Sheridan to Lake Shore Drive
Parking will be banned on the following streets from 2 a.m. June 30 through 7 a.m. July 1:
- Both sides of Halsted from Waveland to Wellington (and at intersection – 200ft in each direction)
- Both sides of Belmont from 200ft east of Broadway to Racine
- Both sides of Sheffield from School to Wellington
- Both sides of Clark from Roscoe to Halsted
- Both sides of Roscoe from Clark to Elaine
- Both sides of Wellington from Sheffield to Halsted
- Both sides of Addison from Broadway to Sheffield
- Both sides of Aldine from Clark to the east alley of Halsted (720-759 W Aldine)
Public transportation
Visitors are encouraged to use public transportation like the CTA or Metra to get to the Pride Parade, due to heavy traffic expected in its surrounding area.
Nearby Red Line stops include Wilson, Sheridan, Addison and Belmont, while the Brown Line’s Belmont, Wellington and Diversey stations are nearby. The Belmont CTA station is the most crowded stop, so people are encouraged to get off at the other ones.
Several buses will be rerouted, with a map from Lawson’s office pictured below.
Ride-share apps like Uber are possible, but traffic will likely be congested with pick-up and drop-off locations several blocks from the parade’s route.
Cooling stations and medical areas
Organizers have taken steps to ensure there are medical areas and cooling stations along the parade’s route, but people should be prepared for summer heat and wear protective sunscreen.
Extra water bottles, hats or head coverings are also encouraged. If it rains like in 2023, a poncho or umbrella might come in handy.
Cooling buses will be parked at the following locations:
- Addison west of Halsted
- Roscoe west of Halsted
- Belmont east of Broadway
- Wilton north of Belmont
- Waveland between Broadway and Halsted
- Belmont westbound between Halsted and Clark
Medical areas will be set up at the following locations:
- Addison east of Halsted
- Roscoe east of Halsted
- Aldine east of Halsted
- Surf west of Broadway
Other safety tips
The Office of Emergency Management and Communications will issue any alerts and notifications for keeping people in the loop on weather conditions and emergencies. Sign up for the NotifyChicago alerts here.
People can also text “CHILAKE” to 78015 for lakefront notices and “CHIBIZ” to 67283 for alerts affecting businesses.
Temporary pole identifiers have also been placed on light poles throughout the parade route to mark various locations. People are encouraged to look for the black signs with white lettering to know where they are along the parade’s route.
Should anyone need to contact 9-1-1, the pole markers will help first responders reach them more quickly. The pole markers can also help friends and family find each other along the route.
Visitors should also be aware that open alcohol containers are banned and will be enforced by police and additional security teams. People caught with alcohol may face fines up to $1,000.