Chicago kicked off its St. Patrick's Day festivities Saturday morning with the dyeing of the Chicago River and then a downtown parade.
Chicago kicked off its St. Patrick’s Day festivities Saturday morning with the dyeing of the Chicago River and then a downtown parade. The river was dyed at about 9 a.m. between Columbus Drive and State Street. About 40 pounds of dye was used in the quarter-mile stretch of the river. Thousands of marchers and bands, horses, and a few leprechauns will be featured as the parade proceeds from Balbo Drive, north on Columbus Drive to Monroe Street. The Shannon Rovers bagpipers bring a touch of Ireland to Chicago as they have for the past 92 years. The 35th annual LIVE broadcast of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade will air on ABC 7’s main channel as well as ABC’s 7.2, and ABC7Chicago.com and the free News App from Noon to 2 PMCTA will provide extra service on the Red, Blue, Green, Purple and Orange lines. There will also be road closures around this area from 8am to 3pm so keep that in mind if you plan to drive today.
