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The Latest: Cubs victory parade closing down Chicago streets

Published Nov. 4, 2016 2:03 p.m. ET

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CHICAGO (AP) The Latest on Chicago's parade and rally honoring the Chicago Cubs' first World Series championship in 108 years (all times local):

11:55 a.m.

Chicago Cubs players are waving at fans and shooting them victory gestures as their open-roof buses move down Chicago's famed Michigan Avenue, which was shut down for the team's World Series championship parade.

Tens of thousands of fans lined city streets Friday, waving Cubs ''W'' victory flags and shouting, ''Let's go Cubs,'' as the buses went past.

Players hoisted the Commissioner's Trophy as a large replica of the trophy went past on the back of a pickup truck. And as Cubs President Theo Epstein's bus drove by, fans yelled ''Theo, Theo, Theo.''

Nearby, construction workers watched the parade and cheered from the top of a crane.

The parade will end a few miles south at Grant Park along Lake Michigan, where thousands more fans are waiting for a championship rally.

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10:50 a.m.

The Chicago Cubs championship parade is underway.

Players boarded open-roof buses outside Wrigley Field and began moving just before 11 a.m. with a police escort. Players, each wearing their Cubs jerseys, waved at fans from atop the buses

The motorcade will drive down the city's famed Michigan Avenue before making its way to a rally scheduled at noon in Grant Park. The sprawling park is already packed with tens of thousands of fans standing shoulder-to-shoulder.

Some players posed for photos together before the buses departed. Others held their infant children and sat with their families.

The Cubs mascot, ''Clark,'' cheered at the beginning of the parade from the back of a pickup truck. Center fielder Dexter Fowler had a cigar.

The Cubs haven't won a championship since 1908, and some were calling Friday's rally and parade the ''celebration of a century.''

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10:10 a.m.

They're not old enough to appreciate decades of disappointment, but lots of children and teenagers are among the Cubs fans gathering in Chicago for the team's first World Series celebration since 1908.

Nine-year-old Juliza Hernandez of Chicago was wearing a Cubs jersey outside Wrigley Field on Friday morning. She made a sign with her father and 6-year-old sister Emily that said, ''Winners'' and ''Go Cubs Go!''

Ten-year-old Chase Anderson of Chicago was also outside the ballpark. He says his favorite Cub is pitcher Jake Arrietta. His dad, 51-year-old private equity investor Dean Anderson, says the new generation of Cubs fans will be expecting more Cubs championships.

Steve Angelo of Chicago was carrying his 4-year-old son Nicholas on his shoulders. The pair wore matching jerseys for first baseman Anthony Rizzo.

Friday was already a scheduled day off for Chicago Public Schools.

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9:55 a.m.

Before the hours-long parade even steps off, tens of thousands of people are making their way into the site of the celebration-capping rally to honor the World Series champion Chicago Cubs.

Aerial video from Chicago television stations shows large crowds of people waiting to get into Grant Park along Lake Michigan and inside barricades set up for the noon Friday rally. Other fans lined the parade route, in places many people deep.

The city has set up security screenings at two entrances to the park and is restricting beverages to closed water bottles, saying alcohol won't be tolerated.

The parade scheduled to start at about 10 a.m. at Wrigley Field will make its way downtown before ending up in Grant Park.

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9:10 a.m.

Chicago Cubs fans have packed the streets outside Wrigley Field hours before the start of the parade to honor the World Series champions.

Laurie Winter, of South Elgin, woke up at 4 a.m. Friday to bring her 2-year-old son Cooper to the stadium to see the players. The 34-year-old says she spotted a man carrying a sign that said ''Tickets wanted for World Series 2017'' and that everyone is excited about the team's future.

The parade is scheduled to start at about 10 a.m. from Wrigley Field, where it will head a few blocks east toward Lake Michigan and then south toward downtown for a rally at Grant Park.

Earlier Friday, motor boats moved up and down the Chicago River, dying it a shade of bright blue to match the team's color.

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8:30 a.m.

Commuter trains running into downtown Chicago are already packed, hours ahead of the victory parade for the World Series champion Chicago Cubs.

The Chicago Transit Authority had announced Thursday it was adding extra service and capacity to accommodate people attending a noon rally in the city.

But trains were already skipping stops Thursday morning because they were packed with fans, some draped with the team's blue and white ''W'' flags before 7 a.m.

Metra trains, which travel farther to the suburbs, was sending out alerts just after 6 a.m. Friday saying some of its trains also were running express because of passenger capacity.

Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said the rail line is ''using every piece of equipment'' available to accommodate the ''huge demand.''

The Cubs parade is scheduled to start about 10 a.m. at Wrigley Field before winding south into downtown along the famed Michigan Avenue to Grant Park for a rally.

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6:40 a.m.

The celebration hasn't stopped in Chicago, where throngs of Chicago Cubs fans are expected at a parade honoring the World Series champions.

Events get underway Friday morning at Wrigley Field. The parade will leave the historic ballpark at 10 a.m. The parade downtown starts an hour later and ends in Grant Park for a noon rally.

The city also plans to dye the Chicago River blue to honor the team, similar to how the river goes green annually for St. Patrick's Day.

Chicago estimated that 2 million people attended a parade and rally in 2015 after the Blackhawks won their third Stanley Cup in six years.

But the Cubs' Game 7 victory in Cleveland on Wednesday broke a 108-year drought, so fans have a lot of pent-up celebrating to do.

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