If you’re from the Midwest, you probably already know that Chicago is the pinnacle of places to be when celebrating St. Patrick’s Day! If you’re not from the Midwest, let’s just start by saying it involves the Chicago River and a whole lot of green dye. This year, most of the big partying happens on March 12th, and since we have been to the event many times, instead of just interjecting our suggestions for certain parts of the day, we are going to tell you exactly where to be and when to be there. We are all about making things easy for you…
10am: This is WHEN the Chicago River goes green, so unless you would like to see the river being turned green through the phone screen of the person standing in front of you, we would suggest getting there around 7:30am. This should provide you with plenty of time to find a spot and a decent view.
12pm: If you want to soak in the whole Chicago St. Patrick’s Day experience, read this. If you want to just drink, you may skip to the next time slot now! The noon hour brings the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It starts at Balbo and Columbus and proceeds north on Columbus. It usually lasts about an hour and a half and is worth it if you’ve never seen it. Our favorite part of the parade is spotting the multitude of parade participants who truly look like authentic leprechauns. The entire event is like people-watching on steroids.
2pm until your heart desires: We get it, you don’t want to walk all over town to find the best events and bars. Chicago is packed on a normal day and St. Patty’s Day is typically even worse. Good thing the good folks at the St. Paddy’s Day River Crawl have our backs! The $30 entry fee may seem a bit steep, but trust us - it’s worth it. The entry fees gains admission to seven bars within a quarter of a mile of each other right by the river and the parade route. This year, the river crawl also boasts stilt walkers, bag pipers, “leprechauns”, live music, and tons of freebies. Sounds pretty legit. You may even see us there. Get your tickets here!
What's your favorite St. Patrick's Day celebration? Let us know in the comments!