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South Side Pride, Diverse Wares on Display at Bud Billiken Parade

By Joe Ward | August 8, 2015 4:25pm | Updated on August 10, 2015 8:18am
 Sherrie Chapman sells Afrocentric merchandise at the 2015 Bud Billiken Parade.
Sherrie Chapman sells Afrocentric merchandise at the 2015 Bud Billiken Parade.
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DNAinfo/Joe Ward

SOUTH SIDE — Over the blaring hip hop music, the shouts of dancers and the yells of paradegoers at the 86th annual Bud Billiken Parade, one voice could still be heard.

"Cookies! Cookies!" shouted Artemia Morris, who was stationed on the grass along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

Morris was one of many vendors dotting King Drive Saturday morning, hoping to capitalize on the thousands who come to the near South Side for the event.

Beyond ice cream trucks, kids with coolers selling water and balloon vendors, paradegoers could find men with slow cookers, snow cone machines and President Barack Obama memorabilia.

Morris was selling her homemade oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies at the parade for the first time.

 Vendors of all types settled on the 2015 Bud Billiken Parade Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015.
Vendors of all types settled on the 2015 Bud Billiken Parade Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015.
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DNAinfo/Joe Ward

"I knew there would be a lot of people here," Morris said. "I wanted to try it out."

Morris, who sells her products around the south suburbs, was persuaded to go by her friend Nicole Smith, who has sold homemade Italian ice at the parade every year since 2001. She operates her own business, Uncle J's Italian Ice, and can usually be found selling her product on the West Side.

Though Smith was at the parade this year, her product was not. She said her car broke down last night and she couldn't get a rental car in time.

"I usually sell out, so I'm sort of disappointed," she said. "I'm making the most of it. It's a nice day."

Competition is tough for many vendors perched along King Drive, but some have cornered their part of the market.

Sherrie Chapman, of suburban Plainfield, set up her tent a block north of Washington Park. Her Plainfield business, Sherrie's Earrings And Things, mainly sells Afrocentric items.

Most years, the parade is a big day for business, Chapman said. She said attendance seemed low Saturday, although the situation didn't dampen her spirits.

"Usually I do better," she said. "I still would come."

That's because Chapman has been coming to the parade for years. She used to march in the parade when she worked for McDonald's. Then she came for years as a spectator.

Now, it's a mixture of business and pleasure, she said.

"I get to watch the parade and sell my products," Chapman said. "It's nice."

The Bud Billiken Parade is one of the few annual events that brings people from all over the city and suburbs to the near South Side. Businesses along 47th Street capitalized on the foot traffic by setting up booths on the sidewalk. Some were offering free school supplies.

 Children pet a man's bulldog at the 2015 Bud Billiken Parade on Chicago's south side
Children pet a man's bulldog at the 2015 Bud Billiken Parade on Chicago's south side
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DNAinfo/Joe Ward

Michael Wynne was one of those paradegoers who came from elsewhere. The Lakeview resident went to the parade for the first time Saturday, bringing with a friend from Phoenix.

"You know how you do things you normally wouldn't do when you have visitors?" Wynne said. "I've always wanted to go [to the parade]."

Wynne said he sees why the event attracts people from all over the city.

"You can see the African-American pride here," he said. "It almost has a small-town, family friendly atmosphere. If it brings outsiders, that's even better."

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