St Patrick’s Day, an annual juggernaut for the hospitality industry, is coming as it does every year on 17 March 2025 and with that falling on a Monday, the Saint’s day celebrations are likely to fill the entire weekend. That’s certainly the case in one of the world’s biggest St Patrick’s Day destinations: Chicago.
The Irish have a long history in Chicago. A first wave of immigrants from the Emerald Isle put down roots as construction workers in the growing “prairie city” as early as 1836. Then, just as the region’s canals were coming into their prime in 1848, the Great Famine struck Ireland, sending a massive second wave of Irish immigrants to the US and to Chicago, where they knew there was work.
The Chicago St Patrick’s Day Parade
Those first Irish communities began celebrating the Feast of St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, by holding an Irish Parade, a custom still followed annually in Chicago 175 years later.
Led by The Shannon Rovers Irish Pipe Band, as it has been for the last 70 years, the Grant Park parade will start on Balbo Drive at 12.15pm on Saturday, 15 March 2025, and proceed north on Columbus Drive to Monroe. It is free to attend although tickets can be bought for “grandstand seating” to enjoy as three hours of colourful floats, Irish dancers, bagpipers, and revellers pass by.
The Dyeing of the Chicago River
Though the parade tradition has been upheld over a century and a half, it is not unchanged. In 1962, a major innovation joined the festivities when the Chicago River was dyed emerald green. Now a beloved event, like the parade, the Dyeing of the Chicago River usually takes place on the Saturday before 17 March. This year it will commence at 10am, when boats release environmentally-friendly swirls of dye into the Chicago River. Would-be river-gazers should be aware, the effect only lasts a few hours.
The lower riverwalk is closed for events. Cruises on the eco-tinted green river are also a big part of today’s offer. In addition, tourism stakeholder Choose Chicago has a list of eateries and bars with a riverside view. Many of the city’s establishments will be putting on a special St Patrick’s Day menu, featuring time-honoured dishes with contemporary twists, and, of course, plenty of Guinness and whiskey.
Neighbourhood events
When you’ve recovered from Saturday’s events, Sunday is the day of local neighbourhood festivities, which are just as proud if not prouder than the main city affair.
From noon, the Wee Folks of Washtenaw & Talman will be hosting their 47th South Side Irish Parade on Sunday, March 16, on Western Avenue. Meanwhile, its younger sister by 27 years, the Northwest Side Irish Parade will also commence at midday, over in the Norward Park district.
