The streets of Bloomfield were full of cultural pride Saturday as Pittsburgh celebrated its 39th annual Columbus Day Parade, ahead of Columbus and Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
The annual tradition, sponsored by the Italian Sons and Daughters of America, brings together families, community organizations and local businesses to honor the region’s rich Italian American heritage while celebrating the many other cultures that have shaped Pittsburgh.
“Five years ago, we thought we would involve a lot of other ethnic groups because the United States is a melting pot of people, and we thought it would be important to have those be part of our parade,” said Tony Ferraro, longtime parade organizer and member of Italian Sons and Daughters of America.
With more than 90 groups participating in this year’s parade, the procession began at 11 a.m. along Liberty Avenue near West Penn Hospital and traveled toward the Bloomfield Bridge and passed by St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church.
This year’s grand marshal was Henry Deluca, a longtime community and philanthropic leader and former teacher’s union president. His family has operated DeLuca’s Diner in Pittsburgh’s Strip District since 1951.
Stanton Heights resident David McCarrison brought his granddaughters, ages 6 and 10, to the parade.
“We’ve been around for 250 years. It’s Columbus Day,” McCarrison said. “My mom was born in Scotland, my wife’s mother’s grandmother was born in Italy, and they all came over and found jobs and worked hard. And I believe made this country what it is today. It’s just incredible.”
Although rooted in Italian American traditions, the celebration also had groups representing Germany, Scotland, Croatia, India, Brazil, Ireland, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Ukraine, along with the Scandinavian community.
The Pittsburgh Samba Group and Lua Dance Club Studio had a shared float for the parade. Dancers from the studios wore traditional Brazilian Carnival-style costumes decked out in sparkles, tassels and feathers.
Other parade participants wore traditional German clothing including lederhosen for men and dirndl dresses for women.
Among of the musical acts were the Pittsburgh Obama Academy Marching Band, Steel City Ambassadors Drum and Bugle Corps, Brownsville Area High School Marching Band, Pure Gold Showband.
While a large portion of the crowd was celebrating Columbus Day, the holiday has also sparked debate over the years because of Christopher Columbus’ treatment of Indigenous people. Some communities have chosen to recognize indigenous Peoples’ Day instead.
At the parade on Saturday, three protesters also were present.