Mark your calendars! Saint Patrick’s Day is coming up on March 17. Whether you’re Irish or not, the holiday is a wonderful time to hang with friends, enjoy some corned beef, cabbage, and Irish soda bread, and, of course, engage in some other college student shenanigans. This year, there are a plethora of St. Patty’s themed activities happening downtown, so don your green apparel and go celebrate!
Dyeing the River Green
Every year for St. Patrick’s Day, the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers turn the Chicago River green. In 1961, a man named Stephen Bailey was approached by a plumber whose overalls had been turned, according to the Chicago St. Pat’s Parade’s website, “a perfect shade of green, an Irish green to better describe it.” Every year since, the plumbers have dyed the river, which turns orange at first and then switches to green. This year, the dying is happening on March 16 at 10:00 am and can best be viewed from upper and lower Wacker Drive between Columbus and Lake Shore Drive or the East side of the bridge at Columbus Drive. As the late Stephen Bailey said, “the road from Chicago to Ireland is marked in green.” After the dying, the green travels from the Chicago River to the Illinois River to the Mississippi, up the Gulf Stream, and across the Atlantic to Ireland, paving the way from Chicago to Ireland.
Parade Downtown
This year’s parade downtown, which will probably last around three hours, starts at 12:00 noon on Saturday, March 16th. The city strongly encourages viewers to come early and use public transportation. The parade route can be viewed here: http://www.chicagostpatsparade.com/parade.html.
Bars
For the 21+ crowd, check out some of the Irish pubs in the Loop with St. Patrick’ s Day specials, such as Fado Irish Pub, O’Callaghan’s, and Poag Mohone’s, which according to conciergepreferred.com host large St. Patty’s Day parties. In Wrigleyville, bars like Harry Caray’s, Goose Island, the Cubby Bear, Johnny O’Hagan’s and Galway’s Arms, according to the same site, “will have a mostly college crowd and cheap beer.” There are also several bar crawls happening throughout the city; for tickets, check out http://beta.cravetickets.com/events/Chicago-Official-St-Paddys-Day-2013-Bar-Crawl.
St. Patrick’s Day Cruise
Take a cruise down the dyed river, complete with a traditional Irish buffet, with Shoreline Sightseeing. Cruises depart from Navy Pier and last ninety minutes. For more information, check out http://shorelinesightseeing.com/cruisestours/special-events/st-patricks-day-cruise/.
Irish American Heritage Center St. Patrick’s Day Festival and Celebration
On March 16, the Irish American Heritage Center, located on North Knox Avenue downtown, hosts its annual St. Patrick’s Day festival with traditional Irish fare, dancing, crafts, and gifts, directly after the parade. The next day, on the 17th, the Center continues the fun with the St. Patrick’s Day Celebration from noon to midnight, with dance, music, and face-painting for children. To learn more, look at the website http://irish-american.org.