The tradition that dates back to 1962 went ahead after all!
Whether you’re a fan of surprises or not, I think we can all admit the river turning green again over the weekend was a glorious and uplifting surprise. It was announced a number of weeks ago that Chicago’s river dyeing and annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations were canceled only for us to wake up to our favorite St. Patrick’s day sight on Saturday morning.
In an effort to keep the tradition alive while avoiding crowds from gathering on the riverfront, Mayor Lightfoot gave the green light for the annual spectacle to happen so long as Chicago didn’t know about it. The Chicago Plumbers Union Local 130 then took to the river at around 7 am on Saturday morning and, using a vegetable-based and environmentally friendly dye, made sure we’d be treated to the emerald green river after all.
The tradition that’s been taking place since 1962 would usually prompt thousands of people to line the riverwalk and crowd Chicago’s bridges. This year keeping it a secret and stationing police on these frequented spots made sure the spectacle could go ahead without any danger. As you can expect, social media went crazy with hysteria, and a wonderful array of photos so we’ve here rounded up our favorites!