Chicago dyes the river green in celebration of St. Patrick's Day
Erin Go Bragh! With just two weeks until St. Patrick’s Day, color yourself Irish for a day and find your way to a celebration complete with dyed dogs and other green things.
As you may know, I had the pleasure of living in Savannah, GA for a few years early in my broadcast career. It was memorable and wonderful for so many reasons including this coastal city’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
This will be the 187th St. Patrick’s Day parade in Savannah. It is actually the second largest parade in the world. Over the next two weeks there will be many events, including dying the historic city’s river and many fountains a festive shade of green, culminating with the parade on the 17th. And really, it’s a great time of year and reason to visit Savannah. The city is steeped in history and has an allure that has caused it to be featured in numerous movies and books.
St. Paddy’s festivities can practically be found in every city around the world, from Japan to the week long St. Patrick’s Festival in Dublin. In fact, spread out over a week, you could celebrate in multiple cities. Up for the challenge?? Here are a few of the standouts you might consider right here in the U.S.
- New York City will host its 250th St. Patrick’s Day parade. The New York Parade consists only of marchers and each year hosts some 250,000 marchers including outstanding marching bands from throughout the United States and from all over the world, plus two million spectators.
- This year in Boston the parade takes place on Sunday, March 20th in the city’s most Irish neighborhood, South Boston aka Southie. After the parade you can walk Boston’s Irish Heritage Trail, a self-guided three-mile walking tour.
- In Chicago, the Irish celebration happens the weekend before the actual holiday on Saturday, March 12th. Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is the biggest in the city all year.
- In Philadelphia, the bagpipes start playing and crowds line the streets for Philly’s longest running parade on Sunday, March 13th. The Pennsylvania Irish first began celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in 1771. Don’t forget to set your clock ahead the night before because this is Daylight Savings Time.
- Seattle is not without its own St. Patrick’s Day celebration, which takes place on Saturday, March 12th. The U.S.’s Emerald City actually paints the traffic stripe of the parade route green. And this is the route I would take with a visit to Puget Sound and whale watching from the San Juan Islands.
And for all you spring training fans, look for some of your favorite baseball teams to break out their holiday-themed uniforms.
Planning on attending any of the St. Paddy’s Day festivities? Let me know where and share with our TSB readers your Irish insights!
