Bud Billiken Parade is Saturday and CBS 2's Joe Donlon and Irika Sargent are live from Washington Park
CHICAGO (CBS) -- As families rush to find school supplies and new shoes, Chicago is getting ready to go back to school.
That means it's time for the annual Bud Billiken Parade!
More than 200 marching bands, drill teams, dance teams, tumblers, and other groups will head down to King Drive on Saturday.
This is the 94th year for the parade, meaning generations of families have watched it and participated in it.
Grammy-winning artist and poet J-Ivy will be the Grand Marshal. He's excited to show kids watching what is possible in life and be the person he saw in the parade as a kid growing up in Chicago.
"I remember growing up being on the sidelines on King Drive watching the floats watching the dancers, and the bands and just sitting there as a kid dreaming and my imagination being broadened by seeing all these amazing acts. It was just an incredible experience," he said.
There's also a back-to-school festival at the end of Washington Park.
Bud Billiken is the largest African American parade in the United States and the second largest after the Rose Parade.
Art on the Mart is already getting into the spirit. CBS 2 got a sneak peek of the "Billiken" project, which you can watch beginning Wednesday at 9 p.m.
CBS 2 will have a special presentation of the Bud Billiken Festival.
Joe Donlon and Irika Sargent will be live in Washington Park at 11:00 a.m.
Check it out on CBS 2 and streaming on cbschicago.com.
Join Meridian at the 94th annual @BudBillikenParadeChicago on Saturday, August 12. There will be food, games, and family...
Posted by Bud Billiken Parade on Tuesday, August 8, 2023