CHICAGO: The Punjabi Cultural Society of Chicago (PCS) kept up its tradition by participating in the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade held on Thanksgiving Day November 23 on State Street in the heart of downtown Chicago.
McDonald’s® Thanksgiving Parade is the biggest parade in Chicago and the city’s premier holiday event. About 5,000 performers, with floats, balloons and marching bands, traveled north from Congress to Randolph for three hours, starting at 8 a.m.
More than 1,300 people volunteered to run the parade and help manage the masses that turned out. Security was tight but thousands of spectators packed on both sides of the parade route to kick off the holiday season were in high spirits.
PCS has been participating in this parade since 2005. “It gives the community great exposure in the mainstream, reflecting commitment to celebrate the American festivals, in solidarity with the American people,” said PCS President Sukhmel Singh Atwal.
The theme of the PCS float and its contingent was an Indian Maharaja wedding procession (Baraat), which included the bride and the groom in traditional Punjabi wedding outfits, the baraatis in festive ethnic costumes, Punjabi Dhol (drum), amplified Bhangra music and dancing on the street interacting with spectators, all in the spirit of celebration,” said Rajinder Singh Mago, PCS Board of Governors.
Punjabi Bhangra dancers from UOC Bhangra team entertained the crowds. Bhangra music blasting from the float made the cheering crowd clap and tap their feet to the beat. Mona and Manjeet Bhalla played the bride and the groom in their wedding outfits. PCS Chicago’s next event is annual New Year’s Eve Langar in Palatine.
McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade celebrates 84 years of Chicago holiday tradition this year. Originally called the “Christmas Caravan” in the 1930s, the Parade was created in 1934 to help lift the spirits of residents suffering through the Great Depression. It was an effort to stimulate economy and cheer up Chicagoans.
Surendra Ullal
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