Event Alert! Chicago’s 10th Annual Arts in the Dark Halloween Parade

CHICAGO’S 10^TH ANNUAL ARTS IN THE DARK HALLOWEEN PARADE CELEBRATES CHICAGO’S CREATIVE LANDSCAPE

Saturday, October 19th, 6-8pm
State Street moving south from Lake to Van Buren

Photo Cred: Distract Your Face Photography

10^th year of parade includes honoring of “10 Creative Spirits” – ten key leaders of Chicago’s arts community

LUMA8 proudly celebrates the 10^th 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 paradingas an art form largely lost in American culture. Where parades often feature political and commercial messages, the purpose of the Arts in the Darkparade 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 10^th 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

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 10^th 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.

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