Aug. 04--Downtown Chicago is getting dressed up for Halloween.
The Chicago Cultural Mile Association, which promotes businesses and attractions along Michigan Avenue between the Chicago River and Roosevelt Road and nearby areas, will announce Tuesday it is hosting a new nighttime Halloween parade along the lakefront.
The Halloween Gathering, slated for Oct. 24, will celebrate Halloween as an "artist's holiday" with a family-friendly art festival and a parade on Columbus Drive that travels north from Balbo Avenue to Monroe Street, Cultural Mile Executive Director Sharene Shariatzadeh said.
"The goal is really to create an iconic event for Chicago and to draw attention to Chicago's diverse and vibrant cultural community," Shariatzadeh said.
Shariatzadeh hopes 30,000 to 50,000 people will attend the free event, which is being paid for with sponsorships and association money.
Festival attractions, which will begin at 2 p.m., include a youth costume parade at Maggie Daley Park and children's workshops in Millennium Park.
The parade, which starts at 6 p.m., will be led by the Halloween Gathering "Creative Spirit Fellows," including Lupe Fiasco, "Life Itself" director Steve James, photographer Dawoud Bey and poet Kevin Coval.
Lanterns, masks, costumes and moving performances in the procession will represent the Chicago arts community, Shariatzadeh said.
Fifty organizations have shown interest in participating in the celebration, including the Art Institute and the Field Museum, Shariatzadeh said. Part of the proceeds are slated to go to the Creative Schools Fund to expand arts education in Chicago schools.
The news conference will be held at 11 a.m. at the Art Institute. Chicago Cultural Affairs Commissioner Michelle Boone and Halloween Gathering Artistic Director Mark Kelly, vice president of student affairs at Columbia College, are expected to attend.
