THIS WEEKEND IN CHICAGO – It Doesn’t Get Any Greener Than This!
This weekend, experience Chicago’s ultimate St. Patrick’s Day celebrations across the city’s most spirited venues. There’s nothing quite like St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago when Irish taverns fill with revelers, cultural celebrations pop up across the city, and the Chicago River sparkles brilliant shades of emerald green. Whether you’re Irish or just Irish at heart, don your best green and get out there for one of the biggest parties of the year! It doesn’t get any greener than this!!
Begin your Saturday morning at 10 a.m. with the Dyeing of the Chicago River taking place between Columbus Drive and Orleans Street in The Loop. A tradition since 1962, the Journeymen Plumbers Local Union 130 pours a vegetable-based dye into the river turning it a bright shade of green. This color only lasts a few hours before turning back to its usual murky shade, so be sure to catch a glimpse of it or perhaps even snap some photos before heading off to the parade!
The city’s big St. Patrick’s Day Parade takes place in Grant Park at 12 p.m. Catch the festive procession starting at Balbo Avenue and Columbus Drive then proceeding north on Columbus to Monroe Street with a viewing stand in front of Buckingham Fountain. Once again, since the first official parade in 1956 The Shannon Rovers Irish Pipe Band will be leading the procession followed by plenty of colorful floats waving their Irish flags, troops of Irish step dancers, marching bands, and more during this three-hour celebration!
Other neighborhood St. Patrick’s Day parades include theSouth Side Irish Parade on Sunday in the Beverly neighborhood; the Northwest Side Irish Parade on Sunday in the Norwood Park neighborhood; the Archer Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood; and the Avondale St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday in the Avondale neighborhood.
Gallagher Way (3635 N. Clark St.) in the Wrigleyville neighborhood celebrates St. Patrick’s Day at Gallagher Way on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a host of family-friendly activities. Immerse yourselves in all things Irish with exciting traditional live music, Irish dancing performances, face painting, balloon artist, lawn games, Irish giveaways, and more!
Festival season usually doesn’t start until late spring, but this year get ready to Shamrock & Roll as Division Street is transformed into a St. Patrick’s Day street festival on Saturday (12 p.m.-10 p.m.) and Sunday (12 p.m.-8 p.m.) between State Street and Dearborn Street at 21 W. Division Street on the Near North Side. Enjoy embracing the luck of the Irish with live music, traditional dances, bagpipers, family-friendly activities, beer and food vendors, and plenty of festive cheer. Plus on Sunday, families will have dedicated activity stations and kid-friendly entertainment to ensure festival-goers of all ages have a great time too!
For my bar crawlers out there, who prefer to start drinking at the “top o’ the morning,” here are two bar crawls taking place on Saturday:
The Chicago Shamrock Crawl takes place from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at over 30 of Wrigleyville’s best bars. A ticket includes admission to all participating bars, a free official crawl t-shirt, breakfast buffets, a gift card to use on the crawl, drink specials, giveaways, and more!
The 11th annual River North St. Patrick’s Day Bar Crawl takes place from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. A ticket gets admission to all bars on the crawl, four free $5 gift cards to use on the crawl, drink specials, giveaways, and more. Plus, don’t forget about the bagpipers, stilt walkers, and “leprechauns” bringing the luck of the Irish to you!
Finally, here’s a link to various other St. Patrick’s Day Events in Chicago taking place this weekend.
Enjoy your Weekend Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day!
Sue Moss and Dean’s Team Chicago
