CHICAGO (CBS) — As the bagpipes, marching bands and fire trucks rolled down Western Avenue, the biggest crowds were near the start of the route at 103rd and Western.

The South Side Irish Parade has changed a lot since its heyday years ago, but Therese Ryan White, a native South-Sider who now lives on the North Side, and said she likes the changes.

“It is easier for the kids, it is definitely more family-centered. The fact that I was down here in my 20’s and it was more party-centered, so it is really different, it feels much more like a community” she said.

And that is exactly what organizers were hoping for.

Around 2,000 people served as the grand marshal for this year’s event, including families of fallen first-responders.