2018 Columbus Day Parade

CHICAGO (WLS) -- ABC7 Chicago, the official station of the 65th annual Columbus Day Parade, presented the parade on Monday, October 8.

The parade started at 12:30 p.m. and coverage on ABC7 started at 1 p.m. and it was also streamed live at abc7chicago.com at 12:30 p.m..

ABC 7 Chicago was the only TV station in Chicago to broadcast the Columbus Day Parade.

WATCH: Parts 2 and 3 of the 2018 Columbus Day Parade

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The parade started on State Street at Wacker Drive and continued south to Van Buren.

The parade is sponsored by the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans.

WATCH: Parts 4 and 5 of the 2018 Columbus Day Parade, plus the South Shore Drill Team

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Festivities started at 9 a.m. with a Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, 1224 W. Lexington in Chicago. A wreath-laying ceremony in Arrigo Park followed at 801 S. Loomis in Chicago.

The Columbus Day Parade celebrates Christopher Columbus and his monumental voyage which was first acknowledged in Illinois in 1963 when it became a legal holiday.

The Columbus Day Parade is produced by ABC 7 Chicago.

WATCH: Parts 6, 7 and 8 of the 2018 Columbus Day Parade

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