Thousands of people lined up along the Chicago River to watch one of the city’s most iconic traditions Saturday morning: the Chicago River dye.
“I mean there’s nothing around the world that compares to what’s happening here today for St. Patrick’s Day,” Chicago resident Alvin Chin told NBC Chicago.
The Chicago Plumbers Union dumped about 40 pounds of dye into the river Saturday morning turning it bright green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
“I’ve lived here all my life this is the first time coming out so we came out early to get a good spot,” Chicago resident Judith Hernandez said.
One couple visiting from Canada told NBC Chicago this is a once in a lifetime experience.
“I love the green river it’s something I recently just found out about and thought it was incredible,” she said. “It looks like lime jello which is awesome!”
A mother and daughter made the trip from Milwaukee and said with traffic it took them three hours to get to the windy city.
Local
“We come down a lot before, but we’ve never seen the river dye green,” said Elizabeth Albea. “We thought it would be a fun thing it’s her birthday.”
People traveled near and far for the special event. For some its become a tradition. For others it’s their first time.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
“This is actually a bucket list item that we just crossed off,” said Steve Woodgate from Canada. “It’s a lifelong dream to come here to party.”
“I love Chicago,” Danny Solares from Minnesota said. “I love the environment, the vibes—it’s different than Minnesota for sure.”
The celebrations continued with the city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It stepped off Saturday afternoon at Balbo and Columbus Drive.
“It’s really nice to just see all of the good energy and all of the green of course” said Jamie Mack from South Bend, Indiana.
Adults and children enjoyed the bag pipes, the marching bands, the floats, and feeling the luck of the Irish. Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson joined in on the celebrations.
“It’s the most beautiful day to bring people around the world to the greatest city in the world,” Mayor Johnson said.
