Parade-goers and dogs dressed in tiger costumes. Dragon dancers skipped and hopped to the beats of their drummers. Dozens packed the local Chinese bakery. A woman holding a wooden paddle instructed people to touch it for good luck. Others handed out red envelopes — a gift-giving tradition during Lunar New Year.
This is how hundreds of people celebrated the Year of the Tiger along West Argyle Street in the Uptown neighborhood Saturday.
This year, the annual Lunar New Year celebration — which has been held on the North Side for over 40 years, according to Uptown United — featured a parade, family activities, speeches by politicians and community leaders, and cultural performances.
The parade, a major celebration for Chicago’s Asian and Asian-American communities, was canceled last year due to COVID-19, but revelers returned to Argyle in full force under sunny skies on a crisp February afternoon.
