The Green Chicago River
For the first five years I lived in Chicago, I celebrated St. Patrick's Day in typical Chicago-style. A good friend of mine has a birthday around the holiday, so we would combine celebrations and take a trolley ride around the city. Every trolley began with a breakfast pre-party of chicken and waffle bites, green egg casserole, donuts & coffee, and other festive bites inspired by Pinterest. After filling our stomachs, we packed the coolers with booze and boarded an old school trolley bus that drove us all over the city. We would drink beer, dance to the top 40 hits and totally forget that we were walking around on a moving vehicle with no seatbelts. Highlights of the trolley stops include a group photo and city views at museum campus, stopping at a few bars in Wrigleyville, and of course, photo ops at the Chicago River.
Chicago has been dying the river green for St. Patrick's Day (the Saturday before the actual holiday) since 1962. The origins of the green dye date back to Mayor Daley days, when he was determined to clean up the riverfront area. The dye was used to help find the source of the sewage waste in the river. Chicago city workers dumped 100 lbs of dye into the river and it ended up holding the bright green color for almost a week. Modern dyeing of the river takes place by dumping an orange powder into the river, distributed by motor boats. I've only seen the distribution a couple times but never like to miss snapping a few festive photos of the famous sight. Even if you happen to be out of town during the celebration, you can still catch a peek at the green river days after the main event. That part of the original tradition has not changed :)
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