Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations Will Return To Normal In March For The First Time In Two Years

All three of Chicago’s cherished St. Patrick’s Day parades are set to return this year!

For the last two years we have been deprived of the annual jubilance that erupts around St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago. The pandemic has tethered celebrations to the bare minimum forcing mitigation measures that restrict crowds and prohibit our favorite annual festivities.

Last year, though parades were canceled once again, the City of Chicago surprised residents by dying the river green overnight having only weeks before announced that the Chicago’s 2021 St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and river dyeing were again canceled. 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.

This year the river dying that dates back to 1962 and all other parades and Irish festivities are returning to normal. Marching bands, bagpipes, dancers, and the whole explosion of green will be returning to the Loop as well as Chicago’s South and Northwest Side for the City of Chicago’s 2022 St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

The river dying tradition that’s been taking place since 1962 once upon a time prompted thousands of people to line the riverwalk and crowd Chicago’s bridges. After keeping it a secret last year and stationing police on these frequented spots to control crowds, this year it can be enjoyed in all its glory once more.

This year Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day will be celebrated the weekend before the traditional St. Patrick’s Day date of March 17th which this year falls on a Thursday. On Saturday, March 12th, the celebrations will kick off with the dyeing of the Chicago River, though an exact time has yet to be confirmed. The Chicago Plumbers Union Local 130 will once again turn the river emerald green using a vegetable-based and environmentally friendly dye which will then be followed by a parade in Grant Park.

The Loop parade will likely follow its usual route up Columbus Drive, starting at Balbo Drive and finishing at Monroe Street. The Northwest Side Irish Parade and the South Side Irish Parade will then take place on Sunday, March 13, from noon onwards.

The Northwest Side parade will set off from William J. Onahan School, 6634 W. Raven St., and proceed along N. Neola Avenue to N. Northwest Highway to Harlem Avenue.

The South Side parade will set off from 103rd Street and Western Avenu and proceed south along Western Avenue to 115th Street.