“There’s ‘AG’ in Chicago” float showcases urban ag at Bud Billiken Parade
“There’s ‘AG’ in Chicago” float showcases urban ag at Bud Billiken Parade
Marching bands, dance teams, community groups, large corporations, news channels, and celebrities were among the floats at the 95th annual Bud Billiken parade in Chicago, but one of the most unique floats was a hayrack pulled by a tractor.
On Aug. 10, more than 100,000 parade-goers lined Chicago’s King Drive from 35th to 55th streets to attend the South Side back-to-school parade. More than 1 million people watched the parade on TV.
“There’s ‘AG’ in Chicago” parade float was organized by the Illinois Agri-Food Collaborative, which included members of Illinois Agri-Food Alliance, the Cook County Farm Bureau, Farm Foundation, Facilitating Coordination in Agricultural Education, the Gardeneers, Chicago Grows Food, Project Exploration, and students and teachers from local schools, including Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences and Michelle Obama School of Technology and the Arts.
The parade float was a hayrack with straw bales for seating pulled by a tractor. Volunteers passed out pens, seeds, bookmarks, popcorn, and goodie bags full of information about agricultural careers during the parade. The float brought awareness to the existence of agriculture in Cook County, as well as educating the public about agriculture and ag careers.
“Adult men were coming over to take photos with the tractor, almost like it was a Corvette,” said Shanell Rainey – Jacob, Careers Coordinator with Illinois Agri-Food Alliance. “People were also shouting out to us that they have gardens and grow their own food. … We were well-received, and people were genuinely excited to see more representation of agriculture in the parade.”