The Thursday or Friday before Labor Day, people are already staking out their places to watch the annual Zion Jubilee Days parade that doesn’t start until 1 p.m. Monday, according to Richard Walker, parade chairman and retired Zion Park District executive director.
People park their RVs or put ropes around stakes to claim their spot for the parade, which will feature the Jesse White Tumblers, jazz and Dixieland bands, a puppet show, Shriner shenanigans and more showing off their talents on Sheridan Road. As far as Walker knows, no one has challenged these early birds when they come to claim their spots.
“We have always billed ourselves as the largest Labor Day parade in the state of Illinois,” said Walker. “Nobody has called us on it yet. We will have well over 100 units in the parade.”
Walker, who lives in Waukegan, works with a budget of at least $20,000 for the parade alone, which allows him to hire professionals to join the celebration.
The parade is not all that’s happening during Jubilee Days, but it’s the biggest part of the three-day event, he said, with more than 10,000 spectators clapping, whistling and cheering on the units. “The parade is singularly the focus of the weekend,” he said.
Saturday features a 5K run at 8 a.m. at the Zion Park District Leisure Center Building and the Miss, Jr. Miss and Little Miss Zion Pageant at 6:30 p.m. at the park district’s band shell in Shiloh Park, followed by an ice cream social.
Sunday features a Full Score Chamber Orchestra Concert and fireworks at 6:30 p.m. at the band shell.
On Labor Day, the event begins with the annual mayor’s prayer breakfast at 8 a.m. at Zion-Benton Township High School. The fee is $10 per person. At the breakfast, church leaders from around the community will lead an ecumenical prayer, and typically a guest speaker is featured, Walker said.
A craft festival will be held 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Labor Day at Shiloh Park, with food booths from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The parade kicks off at 1 p.m.
“As I understand it, Jubilee Days started as a homecoming celebration connected with Zion-Benton Township High School, and it evolved historically as a celebration of the fall harvest and Zion being founded as a religious theocracy, thanking God for the blessings that’s bestowed upon the community,” Walker said. “That’s the genesis of Jubilee Days. The event has become part of the fabric of our community. They have been accustomed to us having it on Labor Day weekend. It certainly hasn’t dwindled in popularity.”
The parade, is “a source of community pride,” he said, adding there’s a lot of motivation for participating in the parade, from simply wanting to be part of it to making the public more aware of who someone or what an organization is.
“It’s election year, so we also will have our share of political candidates,” Walker said.
But the big draw is the Jesse White Tumblers, a crowd favorite, and the varied musical groups, he said. Among those performing are the Big Top Circus Band, the Banjo Buddies, the Sinful Saints who ride atop an antique fire truck, local church praise bands, a mariachi band and a ’50s and ’60s rock ‘n’ roll band that dresses up as clowns.
The Medinah Shrine Club of Chicago will bring at least five units including an antique fire engine joined by a precision motorcycle group and another with miniature 1957 Chevrolets, Walker said.
He added one of his favorites is the Beach Community Church’s child puppet ministry float.
The parade route will be different this year, Walker said. It will step off from Shiloh Boulevard and Emmaus Avenue, heading north to 23rd Street. It then turns east, heads to Sheridan Road, then goes south ending at 29th Street.
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance writer.
68th Annual Jubilee Days
When: Sept. 3-5
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Where: Shiloh Park, 25th Street and Emmaus Avenue, Zion
Tickets: Free; mayor’s prayer breakfast, $10
Information: www.zionjubileedays.com