On State Street moving south from Lake to Van Buren.
10th year of parade includes honoring of “10 Creative Spirits” – ten key leaders of Chicago’s arts community
LUMA8 proudly celebrates the 10th Annual Arts in the Dark Halloween parade, a family-friendly happening featuring unique floats, spectacle puppets and all forms of creative performance taking place Saturday, October 19, from 6-8pm. This magical evening procession will celebrate ten years of honoring Halloween as the “artists’ holiday” and parading as an art form largely lost in American culture. Where parades often feature political and commercial messages, the purpose of the Arts in the Dark parade is solely to uphold and uplift Chicago’s creative communities. This parade draws together participants from major cultural organizations, inspiring youth programs, and aspiring artists in every field and from every ward of Chicago. This dazzling production annually delights an audience of 60,000+ gathered along historic State Street, from Lake to Van Buren Streets.
In celebration of the 10th year of this explosion of art, color and spectacle, this anniversary parade is sure to be bigger, better and grander than ever; among the new elements is the honoring of “10 Creative Spirits” – ten leaders of Chicago’s arts and culture world who will be introduced and honored at the Parade.
The “10 Creative Spirits” of the 10th Annual Arts in the Dark parade include:
- Dee Alexander – jazz singer extraordinaire
- Bril Barrett – tap dancer, Founder and Artistic Director of M.A.D.D. Rhythms, NEA Heritage Fellow
- Sandra Delgado – actor, singer, playwright, arts advocate
- Hallie Gordon – an acclaimed advocate for youth theater, former Artistic Producer, and Artistic Director of Steppenwolf youth theater
- Gloria Groom – renowned Art Institute curator, recipient of the French Legion of Honor
- J. Ivy – three-time GRAMMY Award winner, spoken word artist, musician, producer, arts advocate
- Margaret Murphy Webb – jazz vocalist, educator, producer, arts advocate, Founder and Executive Director of the South Side Jazz Coalition, Co-Chair of the Year of Chicago Music initiative
- Tyrone Phillips – actor, director, Founder and Artistic Director of Definition Theatre
- Tim Samuelson – Chicago’s beloved cultural historian
- Sentrock – an esteemed and prolific Chicago street artist
“We are delighted to celebrate the 10th iteration of this parade by honoring some of the city’s most distinguished artists. These creative individuals make the arts shine in our great city,” said Mark Kelly, Arts in the Dark parade Co-founder and Artistic Director.
Furthermore, this year will include many new installments including a brand–new architects guild featuring nearly 50 Chicago architecture professionals from different organizations who will unite to represent this creative field. Each will create and wear an individual headpiece, reinterpreting a beloved spatial moment, Chicago landmark, out-of-the-box creation, or other recognizable structure in our city. In addition, we have two parade groups coming from Mexico, giant illuminated puppets, a forty-foot animated caterpillar, the “Wiz” coming to life, art bikes and cars, a Batman celebration, Celtic warriors, a zombie disco, and giant spiders.
While the Arts in the Dark parade is a Halloween event, the participants are not bound by a Halloween theme; each group is invited to showcase who they are as an organization with music, dance, costumes, and other dramatic visual elements. The parade features an array of cultural and ethnic groups including a powerful representation of Black and Mexican cultures. . Additionally, the parade will feature Irish, Columbian, Polynesian, Brazilian, South Asia, Korean, Puerto Rican, Caribbean, Chinese, Indonesian, Peruvian, and LGTBQ+ organizations and groups. These and many more groups capture the expanse of Chicago’s cultural landscape in areas including film, museums, visual arts, theatre, architecture, drag performance, fashion, dance, circus arts, creative youth, hip-hop, jazz, rock, opera, street arts, fire arts, drumlines, puppeteers and much more.
“This year’s Arts in the Dark would not be possible without the generosity of our sponsors and partners, including the Chicago Free for All Fund, Chicago Loop Alliance, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and Choose Chicago,” said Sharene Shariatzadeh, President and CEO of LUMA8. “Their support enables us to produce an event that draws visitors to Chicago from around the globe and allows us to provide funding to cultural groups that would not otherwise have the ability to participate.”
Arts in the Dark is presented by LUMA8 and the City of Chicago with Major Support from the Chicago Free For All Fund and Chicago Loop Alliance. It is produced in partnership with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and is a proud recipient of a 2024 Chicago Presents Grant. Additional support is provided by Amazon, Blue Plate Catering, Choose Chicago, Harris Theater for Music and Dance at Millennium Park, Industry Ales, Italian Village Restaurants, the Millennium Garages, William Blair and the Wit.
LUMA8 (Light Up My Arts) is an independent not-for-profit that strives to elevate Chicago as a focal point of artistic innovation to enrich the lives of its citizens and create economic impact. www.luma8.org, www.artsinthedark.org
About the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is dedicated to enriching Chicago’s artistic vitality and cultural vibrancy. This includes fostering the development of Chicago’s non-profit arts sector, independent working artists and for-profit arts businesses; providing a framework to guide the City’s future cultural and economic growth, via the 2012 Chicago Cultural Plan; marketing the City’s cultural assets to a worldwide audience; and presenting high-quality, free and affordable cultural programs for residents and visitors. https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca.html
About Chicago Loop Alliance
Chicago Loop Alliance (CLA)’s mission is to create, manage and promote positive and inclusive programs that attract people to the Loop and accelerate economic recovery. CLA is a membership organization as well as the sole service provider for Special Service Area#1-2015, and the Chicago Loop Alliance Foundation produces public art projects and events. www.loopchicago.com.
For more information visit www.artsinthedark.org , LUMA8.org.
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