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Pride Parade Still Set To Start At Noon, Despite Change On Application

By Ariel Cheung | January 21, 2016 8:35am
 Thousands of parade attendees lined Halsted Street during the 46th annual Chicago Pride Parade in Boystown on June 28, 2015.
Thousands of parade attendees lined Halsted Street during the 46th annual Chicago Pride Parade in Boystown on June 28, 2015.
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DNAinfo/Ariel Cheung

BOYSTOWN — Despite a permit application listing an earlier start for the 2016 Pride Parade, the Boystown event start time won't change this year.

Ald. Tom Tunney's office (44th) spoke with parade organizer Richard Pfeiffer and confirmed it would still begin at noon. While the Dec. 1 application lists an 11 a.m. start time, organizers will update the forms to reflect the traditional noon kickoff, said Julie Levar, Tunney's director of communications.

The possible time change was just one of several tweaks to the parade, which will see fewer entrants and double the number of security agents, Pfeiffer said in late December. The 150 entries this year will include an estimated 70 floats, 65 vehicles and 15 marching groups — half the 300 entries in the parade a decade ago, Pfeiffer said.

Crime in Wrigleyville + Boystown and ChicagoPride.com have also reported that the parade will maintain its noon start time.

Neighbors say they hope Tunney and other city officials plan community meetings earlier than in 2015, when it took until late April for officials to announce whether the parade would remain in Boystown or move to Downtown.

While the city must still approve the application, Pfeiffer expects the parade will remain on the same route as last year.

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