Chicago announces new nighttime Halloween parade

Chicago will host a new nighttime Halloween parade and celebration showcasing city artists and arts institutions next month.

The Art Institute of Chicago, After School Matters and Broadway in Chicago are among the organizations participating in Arts in the Dark, a free event that kicks off with a pre-parade celebration at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at Buckingham Fountain.

The parade, which starts at 6, will travel north along Columbus Drive to Maggie Daley Park, where it concludes with a family-friendly Halloween movie and a candy giveaway.

Led by eight guest "illuminators," selected for their creative efforts, the parade features Art Institute representatives marching in medieval-style armor and theater fans dressed as their favorite Broadway characters. Participants will combine costumes, masks, music and lighting to create the spectacle, according to representatives from LUMA8 (Light Up My Arts), an organization that promotes Chicago's artistic and cultural innovations. The organization is producing the event in collaboration with the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and the Chicago Park District.

The organization invites individual artists to create lanterns inspired by the theme "Under the Sea and Up in the Air," with awards going to the best executed and most creative lanterns.

See artsinthedark.org for more information.