1981 GREEK INDEPENDENCE PARADE

When photographing a large scale event I am looking for personal interactions and the behind the scenes images. The preparation of floats, uniforms, costumes, historic and ethnic imagery captivates me and a photograph must be taken quickly before the subject has time to rearrange his thoughts and actions. The first female mayor of Chicago was Jane Byrne who promoted ethnic celebrations at the Daley Plaza, neighborhood festivals and parades on Michigan Avenue, State Street and Dearborn Streets in Chicago during her one term as Chicago's mayor. She can be seen marching with dignitaries down to the reviewing stand. Parades are other worldly events when the day to day traffic stops and the pageantry begins. Costumes, culture, religion, language, mythology and marching bands intersect to form a free event for all to enjoy. The Art Institute Chicago hosted an exhibit of called, “The Search for Alexander” in 1981 and banners of Alexander the Great lined the street as the parade passed by. Parade watchers took advantage of standing on the steps of the museum as seen in Roll 3_001. Another standout is Roll 3_06 of Petros from Diana’s Opaa Restaurant in Greektown Chicago tossing carnations from the sunroof of a limousine. The float featuring Pegasus the flying horse is in Roll 2_07 & 08 sponsored by Corinth Wines. It was always fun to see my family standing off in the sidelines while I made it my mission to document the parade. You can see me in Roll 3_04 and my family in frames throughout concluding with my mother Georgia Alexander in Roll 3_36.