Chicago’s Green River on St. Patrick’s Day
By Jacqueline Jax

I think I checked another event off my bucket list. Downtown Chicago was a sea of green as thousands flocked to the Loop for the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Leading off the festivities was the dyeing of the Chicago River; an event dating back to 1962, when Mayor Richard J. Daley and Stephen M. Bailey, a boyhood friend and then-St. Patrick’s Day parade chairman, started the tradition. True to tradition, the river became bright green once again as millions of people admired the transformation stretching 2 miles of waterway. 

A picture of the day included Irish dancers, hair piled high with kinky curls, bright eyes and flying feet. High school students marched in near perfect unison, filling the parade route with music. And firefighters were cheered as they walked shoulder to shoulder in crisp black suits down the Columbus Drive parade route. It was a great day enjoyed by this fun and lively city with very few incidence. Over all a piecefull event that I would certainly recommend for families all over the world to experience.