CHICAGO (CBS) — After a one-year hiatus caused by COVID, the 92nd annual Bud Billiken parade and festival returns Saturday in Bronzeville on Chicago’s South Side.
The back-to-school celebration will have safety measures in place.
That includes wearing masks regardless of your vaccination status. The parade president said you’ll be able to get a free COVID shot on the corner of 47th and King Drive.
“You know it’s split,” said Bud Billiken President Myiti Sengstacke-Rice. “Some people are ‘oh we have to have Bud Billiken?’ Of course we do. Some are ‘why are you having an event?’ We have a responsibility to share resources with our community, especially the Black community that is the most vulnerable.”
The Bud Billiken parade kicks off Saturday at 10:00 a.m. with Chicago Sky star Candace Parker serving as the Grand Marshal.
There’s a festival in Washington Park at the end of the parade route.