For the second year in a row I briefly stopped by the annual gay pride parade in Lake View to get a glimpse of the revelry and madness the event always incites. Next to the Taste, I’ve never seen so many people in one place since moving to Chicago, nor have I seen such a diverse collection of people. There were straights, gays, drag queens, and families. Floats carried not only shirtless men in thongs, but straight and gay politicians, police officers, and local church groups.
The vibe of the parade is more akin to Mardi Gras than an activist movement, which it was when it first started 40 years ago. If there’s a downside to the event, it’s that it’s almost too popular days: As you’ll see from the video, things get claustrophobic, with crowd flow grinding to a standstill for minutes at a time. And I’ve never seen so much trash on a city street in my life. But if you’ve never been, it’s worth attending next summer.