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Chicago Tribune
16-03-2025
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
Despite the cold and snow, South Side Irish Parade organizers estimate 77,000 turn out
Chicago's Dave Madeck went bicycling Friday and was sweating on a day that hit 80 degrees in the Chicago area. On Sunday, he, his fiancé Maria Comacho and her mother, Elvira, were bundled while staking their claim for a prime spot at the 45th South Side Irish Parade. The snowy, wet and cold weather didn't stop Madeck and the Camachos from enjoying their first South Side Irish Parade as they sat near the popular 103rd Street and Western Avenue viewing area. They woke up in the morning, looked out the window, but despite the undesirable weather they were determined. 'You know what we said?' Madeck said. 'We said if this was the Christmas parade, we would come.' 'Nothing was going to stop us,' Maria Camacho said. Plenty of others were not stopped. Parade committee officials estimated a turnout of 77,000. The parade featured more than 100 entries/floats, including one with, fittingly, Santa Claus. Irish dancers were bundled and many of the younger dancers were too cold to dance. Even Bozo the Clown needed to keep his orange hair and makeup dry by using an umbrella. Madeck, 65, and Maria Comacho have been to Irish parades in the past and heard so much about the South Side event that he finally made an appearance. Elvira, 73, had never been to an Irish parade before. 'I love them, love them,' Maria said. 'I love the dancers. It's just beautiful.' Elvira said she loves 'everything' about parades while Madeck is a fan of the bands and the floats. The grand marshal this year was the Big Shoulders Fund and the community honoree was the Brother Rice Mount Sion Program, a special education inclusion program. A special guest of the Mount Sion program was the Brother Rice boys basketball team, which finished second in the state at the Illinois High School Association Class 3A tournament the night before in Champaign. 'These last 24 hours have been long and emotional,' senior guard Marcos Gonzales said. 'I'll always have the moments and the memories with the guys, especially being here, I'll remember forever.' After the Crusaders dropped a 55-52 double-overtime heartbreaker to DePaul Prep at the State Farm Center, they had a team dinner at Barraco's in Evergreen Park. Gonzales said he got home at 1:30 a.m. and woke up early to participate in his first Irish parade. 'I'm not the biggest fan of the snow or the cold, but everybody has to deal with it,' he said. 'But I have never been to the parade, even as a spectator, so this is great.' Grace McKee was the parade's queen this year after spending many years as a drummer at the parade for the Stock Yard Kilty Band While most people were having fun and sharing joyous memories, some also had a few sad thoughts about two people who recently died who had strong ties to the parade. George Hendry, of Morgan Park, died at age 78 July 16. He was the co-founder of the event in 1979 with Pat Coakley. Pat Coakley's son, Kevin, had fond memories of Hendry. 'He wasn't actively involved last year, but he watched the parade to watch his children and grandkids march,' Kevin Coakley said. 'He was the driving force for the parade. It was his idea. He and my dad put it together and I don't think they ever thought it was going to be as big as it would get.' The legend is that Hendry and Coakley marched with a group of neighborhood kids known as the Wee Folks of Washtnaw and Talman. The little march included a decorated baby buggy. From there, it grew to an event that draws tens of thousands per year. 'I was 7 when I marched in the first parade,' Kevin said. 'Back then I was thinking 'where is the hot chocolate and where are the Twinkies?'' In February, 88-year-old George Nedved Jr. died. He was a beloved longtime parade treasurer and volunteer and was a reviewing stand announcer with his brother, Kevin.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
47th annual South Side Irish Parade steps off at noon Sunday in Beverly neighborhood
CHICAGO — The Chicago River was dyed green and the sights and sounds of Irish culture were on full display Saturday during the 70th annual downtown St. Patrick's Day Parade. That was just the start of the St. Patrick's Day weekend festivities in Chicago. The festivities continue Sunday with the 47th annual South Side Irish Parade, which begins with a ribbon cutting at 11:45 a.m. then steps off at noon in the Beverly neighborhood, at West 103rd Street and South Western Avenue. WGN-TV will be at the parade, featuring a WGN float and Bozo the Clown. St. Patrick's Day 2025: A complete Chicago guide to river dyeing, parades and celebrating all things Irish The South Side Irish Parade annually draws more than 100,000 people and features bands, floats, dancers and more marching south to West 115th Street. The parade was the vision of two best friends, George Hendry and Pat Coakley, both raised on the South Side, Hendry in the St. Sabina Parish and Coakley in the Little Flower Parish in the Auburn neighborhood. They met in their early 30s after both moved to the Morgan Park community with their young wives. There they became neighbors and best friends, and in 1979 they co-founded the South Side Irish Parade over beers at the kitchen table. They started the parade with 17 children from Morgan Park and a baby buggy as a float. The parade is now much larger, of course, and the Grand Marshal of this year's parade is the Big Shoulders Fund. Inspired by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, the Big Shoulders Fund was founded by a group of business and civic leaders in 1986 to provide support to schools in underserved communities in Chicago. The Big Shoulders Fund has raised over $650 million since it started and today provides scholarships to over 5,000 children every year, Big Shoulders Fund President and CEO Josh Hale says. 'Those scholarships also provide enrichments, so mentors, tutors, access to lots of experiences, like museums,' Hale added. 'We also help invest in classrooms and teachers. '… Just like this parade brings people together as a strong community organization, our schools in each one of these little communities — together as a network — we think they bring together the greatest diversity of our city into one wonderful tapestry that makes our city a better place for all.' Hale says the Big Shoulders Fund serves a network of 92 schools, encompassing about 25,000 children. 'Over the life of the Big Shoulders Fund, hundreds of thousands, if not more, have benefitted from this,' Hale said. 'Ultimately, we want these children to go on to brighter futures.' Hale said about 250 children will be marching with the Big Shoulders Fund during the South Side Irish Parade on Sunday. 'That sort of energy, you can't keep that down,' Hale said. 'So we're going to be marching with pride and happiness.' Meanwhile, the special honoree at this year's parade is the Mount Sion Program at Brother Rice High School, located on the South Side. The program is a special education inclusion initiative, designed to meet the unique needs of students with moderate cognitive disabilities or significant learning disabilities. The Mount Sion Program is finishing its first year during this academic school year. 'We've garnered so much community support that we'll be finishing our first year this year and welcoming our second class next year,' Matt Prunckle, program director, said. Prunckle says there are currently four students in the program. Three more have been accepted for next year, and the plan is to grow the program by three or four students each year. 'The impact has been great,' Prunckle said. 'It's not limited to the boys that are in the program. It's really changed and strengthened our whole entire community. '… Brother Rice is a better place because we've opened our door to more young men.' Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Brother Rice will have a float at Sunday's parade, featuring current and former students and families, as well as members of its boys basketball team, which just finished as the IHSA Class 3A state runner-up over the weekend at the State Tournament in Champaign. 'It fits in line with the values of the parade, with that faith, tradition and community,' Prunckle said. '… It shows the best of what Beverly is all about.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Big Shoulders Fund, Brother Rice High School are honorees for South Side Irish St. Patrick's Day Parade
Chicago's Big Shoulders Fund nonprofit and Brother Rice High School's Mount Sion Program will be honored as part of this year's South Side Irish Parade, organizers announced Wednesday. The annual Irish heritage celebratory parade, which will step off at noon on March 16 at103rd and Western in Chicago's Beverly/Morgan Park neighborhood, chose the Big Shoulders Fund as grand marshal and the Mount Sion Program as honoree for 2025. 'This year, both the grand marshal and honoree organizations align with our longstanding focus of faith, family and community,' said Marianne Rowan Leslie, chair of the South Side Irish St Patrick's Day Parade Committee. Both honorees work to provide additional support for Catholic school students in the Chicago area. The South Side Irish Parade is the largest community based St. Patrick's Day Parade outside of Ireland, according to organizers. The Ronald McDonald House was grand marshal of the 2024 Irish parade that also honored Chicago senior living facility Smith Village. Wednesday's ceremony in the Brother Rice High School gymnasium kicked off with a procession including students from Chicago area Catholic schools supported by the Big Shoulders Fund, which provides scholarships and other educational resources to students in underserved communities. A bagpipe musician from the Chicago Stockyard Kilty Band led the students as they marched to the front of the gym, holding banners from Walter St. Benedict School, St. Margaret of Scotland School, Our Lady of Guadalupe and Annunciata School. The ceremony's student-focused theme continued with a choir performance from St. Francis de Sales High School students, proud parents looking on from rows of metal folding chairs. The Big Shoulders Fund, which was honored first with its green and gold commemorative banner, serves more than 20,000 students and 72 schools in the Chicago region and in recent years expanded to northwest Indiana, serving about 20 schools and 6,000 students there, according to the organization's website. A major goal of the nonprofit is to help inner-city Catholic schools stay open, believing that when a Catholic school closes, the surrounding area experiences more violence and less social cohesion. While the Big Shoulders Fund has been supporting students and schools since 1986, Brother Rice High School only recently launched its Mount Sion Program aimed at providing personalized attention to students with moderate cognitive disabilities or significant learning disabilities. Mount Sion students are taught in small groups for core subjects such as English and math, but join other students for elective, theology and social studies classes, according to the Brother Rice High School website. In those classes, they are supported academically and socially included by peer mentors. Peer mentors and high school seniors Colin Dickman and JD Maloney said their participation in the program has been fulfilling as they work to promote inclusion and acceptance among the larger student body. 'Kind of just pushing them to get involved with the other guys in their class, helping them interact and do their best,' Dickman said about the four students he's mentored since the program started during his junior year. 'They never fail to put a smile on my face,' Dickman said. The parade queen will be announced at a fundraising event that runs from 3 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 22 at 115 Bourbon St., Chicago, with tickets costing $50 at the door. More information is available on the parade's website, ostevens@
Chicago Tribune
12-02-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Big Shoulders Fund, Brother Rice High School are honorees for South Side Irish St. Patrick's Day Parade
Chicago's Big Shoulders Fund nonprofit and Brother Rice High School's Mount Sion Program will be honored as part of this year's South Side Irish Parade, organizers announced Wednesday. The annual Irish heritage celebratory parade, which will step off at noon on March 16 at103rd and Western in Chicago's Beverly/Morgan Park neighborhood, chose the Big Shoulders Fund as grand marshal and the Mount Sion Program as honoree for 2025. 'This year, both the grand marshal and honoree organizations align with our longstanding focus of faith, family and community,' said Marianne Rowan Leslie, chair of the South Side Irish St Patrick's Day Parade Committee. Both honorees work to provide additional support for Catholic school students in the Chicago area. The South Side Irish Parade is the largest community based St. Patrick's Day Parade outside of Ireland, according to organizers. The Ronald McDonald House was grand marshal of the 2024 Irish parade that also honored Chicago senior living facility Smith Village. Wednesday's ceremony in the Brother Rice High School gymnasium kicked off with a procession including students from Chicago area Catholic schools supported by the Big Shoulders Fund, which provides scholarships and other educational resources to students in underserved communities. A bagpipe musician from the Chicago Stockyard Kilty Band led the students as they marched to the front of the gym, holding banners from Walter St. Benedict School, St. Margaret of Scotland School, Our Lady of Guadalupe and Annunciata School. The ceremony's student-focused theme continued with a choir performance from St. Francis de Sales High School students, proud parents looking on from rows of metal folding chairs. The Big Shoulders Fund, which was honored first with its green and gold commemorative banner, serves more than 20,000 students and 72 schools in the Chicago region and in recent years expanded to northwest Indiana, serving about 20 schools and 6,000 students there, according to the organization's website. A major goal of the nonprofit is to help inner-city Catholic schools stay open, believing that when a Catholic school closes, the surrounding area experiences more violence and less social cohesion. While the Big Shoulders Fund has been supporting students and schools since 1986, Brother Rice High School only recently launched its Mount Sion Program aimed at providing personalized attention to students with moderate cognitive disabilities or significant learning disabilities. Mount Sion students are taught in small groups for core subjects such as English and math, but join other students for elective, theology and social studies classes, according to the Brother Rice High School website. In those classes, they are supported academically and socially included by peer mentors. Peer mentors and high school seniors Colin Dickman and JD Maloney said their participation in the program has been fulfilling as they work to promote inclusion and acceptance among the larger student body. 'Kind of just pushing them to get involved with the other guys in their class, helping them interact and do their best,' Dickman said about the four students he's mentored since the program started during his junior year. 'They never fail to put a smile on my face,' Dickman said. The parade queen will be announced at a fundraising event that runs from 3 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 22 at 115 Bourbon St., Chicago, with tickets costing $50 at the door. More information is available on the parade's website,
