Seasonal & Holidays
Chicago St. Patrick's Day 2019: Parades, River Dyeing
Check out this year's events that make the city one of the best places in the country to celebrate the holiday.
CHICAGO — For years Chicago has topped lists that name the best cities in the country to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, and it's no surprise — the river dyeing, massive parades and countless pubcrawls make Chicago not only a fun but unique place to celebrate. The city has yet again been named the No. 1 place to celebrate St. Patrick's Day 2019 by a WalletHub report.
The report reviewed the events, traditions, cost, safety and even weather in 200 U.S. cities. Other variables such as Irish population, cost of beer, crime rate and walkability were also taken into consideration.
Chicago, Philadelphia, Madison, Boston and Tampa were named the top five cities to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in the WalletHub report.
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Driving to any of the major St. Patrick's Day events is not recommended. CTA will ramp up service on the day of the Chicago parade — Saturday, March 16. Buses will be rerouted in the morning due to parade street closures.
Chicago River Dyeing
The Chicago River will be dyed green starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 16, near Michigan Avenue and Columbus Drive.
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Boats will make their way up and down the river to State Street with streaks of green coming out until the whole waterway is dyed. Hosted by the Chicago Plumbers Union Local 130, the event uses vegetable dye used for detecting plumbing leaks, which lasts about five hours.
Chicago police don't allow spectators on certain sections of the bridges due to weight and safety concerns, so spots along the riverside and corners of the bridges fill up quickly. According to the event website, you can see it best from the east side of Michigan Avenue, west side of Columbus Drive or Upper and Lower Wacker between Michigan Avenue and Columbus.
St. Patrick's Day Parade 2019
The parade will begin at noon Saturday at Balbo and Columbus drives, and end at Monroe Drive. There are viewing stands at the Buckingham Fountain, but they fill up quickly so dress warmly and try to arrive early to get a seat.
As always, the parade will include countless groups of bagpipers, Irish dancers, musicians, leprechauns, flag-bearers and green necklace-throwing Chicagoans rallying the spectators.
South Side Irish Parade
The South Side Irish Parade will begin at noon Sunday from Western Avenue and 103rd Street. It will travel down Western to 115th Street.
For more details on the South Side Irish Parade, including parking restrictions, street closures, pub specials and more, click here.
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