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The 70 th annual Chicago St. Patrick’s Day parade will take place on Columbus Drive between Balbo Drive and Monroe Drive shortly after the river is dyed green, according to officials. Chicago St. Patrick’s Day parade Saturday, March 15, 2025 The 70th annual Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade is one of the largest in the country and the centerpiece of the city’s unforgettable St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Catch the festive procession on Columbus Drive between Balbo Drive and Monroe Drive. Members of the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Local Union 130 UA dye the Chicago River green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in the Loop, Saturday, March 16, 2024. The city's downtown St. Patrick's Day Parade is celebrating its 70th anniversary. The parade steps off at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 15, at Columbus and Balbo drives in Grant Park. The parade The tradition returns this year thanks to the Chicago group that has been dyeing the river green in celebration of St. Patrick's Day for decades By Grace Erwin • Published March 3, 2025 The Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day means green will be seen all around the city — including the Chicago River. Here’s what you need to know if you plan to catch a parade or the river In Ireland, however, St. Patrick’s Day remained a solemn day of observance with little revelry. The Irish government didn’t recognize St. Patrick’s Day as a public holiday until 1903, and the first parade in Dublin wasn’t held until 1931. Even pubs remained closed on March 17 until 1961. But it’s far from the city’s only St. Patrick’s Day celebration. The dyeing of the Chicago River — to green, of course — was added to the main parade in 1962 and has quickly become one Chicago Goes Green: St. Patrick's Day in Chicago St. Patrick's Day in Chicago is memorable experience for Chicagoans as well as visitors. You will be surprised that St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated throughout the city every year. Main attractions are green river and parade. You will have great time experiencing vibrant parade and viewer’s favorite event of dyeing of the Chicago River. Truth Soak in the vibrant green waters from aboard Seadog on St. Patrick's Day. Guests can watch the river dyeing at 10am from the docked boat—the 45-minute cruise will commence afterwards. Cruises Green libations tend to go glass-in-hand with St. Patrick's Day. The River Walk's first St. Pat's celebration in 1969 kicked off at the floodgates by Kelly's, a former Irish pub and restaurant For more than 60 years, the Windy City has been turning the Chicago River green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. It started in 1961, when Stephen Bailey, the business manager of the Chicago E ileen Burke-Faught has been seeing green along the River Walk for St. Patrick's Day since the San Antonio River first flowed with the artificial color more than 50 years ago. As thousands head to downtown Chicago Saturday to watch the Chicago River be dyed green for St. Patrick's Day, many may be wondering what's exactly in the mysterious dye that gives the river its The dyeing of the river will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The task usually takes about 45 minutes to complete, and the bright green color can last anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days "The dying of the river green is such a public event that it helped concretize the celebration of St. Patrick's day in the city," Peter Alter, chief historian at the Chicago History Museum, told Chicago will once again go all out for St. Patrick's Day this year with one of the city's most iconic traditions: The 2025 Chicago River Dyeing. The Chicago River Dyeing for 2025 is scheduled for This project gave Stephen Bailey—a friend of Daley’s and the city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade chairman—the bright idea of turning the entire river green using orange powder (a secret formula). Thus, the St. Patty’s tradition began and continues to this day. The 64 th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade begins Saturday, March 16 th. The Grab your green gear, round up your crew, and get ready for a shamrockin’ good time as we cruise the Chicago River in style on Saturday, March 15th, 2025. Option 1: St. Patrick’s Day River Dye Cruise. Time: 10:00 AM; Watch the famous Chicago River dyeing ceremony from the best seat in the city—on the water! Get Tickets Here; Option 2: St 🚤 Launch the 2025 boating season on Chicago’s iconic Green River 🍹 Party along the Riverwalk with DJ Tecknique and more 🎧 2 levels of music and drinks for the ultimate St. Patrick’s Day experience 👓 Free St. Patrick’s Day sunglasses and green beads while supplies last
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