Mexican Independence Day events Chicago: City prepares for celebrations with hopes of avoiding gridlock, new festival in Grant Park

CHICAGO (WLS) — The city of Chicago is gearing up for this weekend’s Mexican Independence Day celebrations, hoping to provide space for plenty of fun while avoiding rush hour downtown.

Vehicles driving through the Loop waving Mexican flags have become a tradition in the city around Mexican Independence Day. A year ago, people even liked line dancing.

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The joyous holiday in the Mexican community commemorates the end of Spanish rule in Mexico and the creation of an independent country.

But for those who don’t celebrate, the crowd creates a big headache.

City leaders this year hope to avoid that by releasing a public service announcement in both English and Spanish urging everyone to celebrate responsibly. And Grant Park’s El Grito organizers hope the festival will give people a place to get out of their vehicles and enjoy a more traditional celebration.

“It’s not representative of our culture. Nowhere in the world do we do this in RVs. I think it’s bad for people celebrating. It can’t be fun,” said German Gonzalez, co-president of El Grito.

They were busy preparing for El Grito Thursday at Butler Field in Grant Park. The first-year festival will feature big sights and musical talent along with plenty of Mexican food and plenty of family activities, including arts and crafts and clinics featuring several Chicago sports teams.

There will also be fireworks at the end of the night.

While the OEMC and Chicago police hope the event will reduce congestion downtown, they said they have a plan to restrict access downtown if they need to, which includes ongoing street closures that would include access points for Loop residents or employees with driver’s license or work ID. .

The streets would also be open for first responders in case of emergency.

El Grito organizers said they realize it may take some time for the first-year event to catch up, but they have high hopes for the weekend.

“We wanted to create a safe, inclusive celebration where people could come,” Gonzalez said.

The festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday from 14:00 to 22:00. They are limited to 12,000 people each day and encourage them to take public transport to reduce congestion in the city centre.