The annual Columbus Day Parade is returning this year to downtown Chicago. It was canceled last fall and replaced with a car parade because of the COVID pandemic. The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans introduced this year's queen and court Wednesday night. The parade is at 12:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 11 on State Street from Wacker Drive to Van Buren Street.

This will be the 69th annual parade, according to the JCCIA website. Founded in 1952, the JCCIA serves as a congress for the Chicagoland Italian American organizations and represents the community on a local, state, national and international level, the site said. It recently filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Park District to return a statue of Christopher Columbus to Arrigo Park, which was removed after civil unrest last year.