Faces painted and hoisting homemade Stanley Cups, thousands of fans ready to fete Blackhawks

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This photo provided by Harry Caray\'s Restaurant Group shows Chicago Blackhawks\' Daniel Carcillo carrying the Stanley Cup into Harry Caray\'s in Rosemont, Ill., Tuesday morning, June 25, 2013, to celebrate after the team arrived home from Boston following their NHL Stanley Cup hockey final win over the Boston Bruins. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Harry Caray\'s Restaurant Group)

CHICAGO – Thousands of Blackhawks fans are pouring into downtown Chicago for a parade and rally to fete the Stanley Cup champions.

Hours before Friday’s parade is set to begin, crowds are jamming entrances to the rally site in Grant Park along Lake Michigan.

Some of them camped out there overnight.

Fans came with faces painted in the red and black team colours. Others were hauling around knock-off versions of the silver Stanley Cup, including one fashioned out of an empty beer keg.

Twenty-two-year-old Sarah Schmidt made the pilgrimage from Milwaukee, telling her boss she was taking the day off no matter what. She hopes she still has her bar tending job when the party is over.

With hours to go before the festivities, trains into the city were packed.

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