Name: Chicago River dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day weekend, prompting selfies and wooing: ‘It’s a little bit of normalcy’
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Chicago River dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day weekend, prompting selfies and wooing: ‘It’s a little bit of normalcy’

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The Chicago River glowed Kelly green downtown this St. Patrick’s Day weekend after all, but the usual cheering throngs crowding the banks during the annual dumping of the dye were much thinner. In a remarkable attempt to give Chicagoans a bit of mid-March normalcy, while also trying to avoid the kind of large public gathering she’s still discouraging during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Lori Lightfoot sanctioned the famous river dyeing to proceed Saturday without confirming the exact time, marveling passing revelers, dog walkers and joggers alike. Advertisement The first boat sliced across the surface of the northern side of the river just before 7:10 a.m., leaving a growing tail of green behind. Members of the city’s plumbers union dumped the dye off the side of the boat that was emblazoned with flags bearing their emblem. More boats, carrying the American flag or beer logos, soon zigzagged across the water on the other side, some with dye and others just to spread the green around. After the river became a solid green, Thomas and Kathleen Bender peered over the DuSable bridge amid small groups of people shouting, “Woo!” The Benders said they arrived from the Irving Park neighborhood with their daughter because this year their son was performing on the barge below as a bagpiper with the Shannon Rovers Irish Pipe Band. Advertisement “They wanted to avoid the crowds, but they didn’t want to give up the tradition, so this was probably a compromise,” Thomas Bender, 51, said about the city’s surprise decision. “It’s a little bit of normalcy that I’m sure is sadly missed by a lot of people.” Another couple, Lori Jones and Mike Smith, decked out in green hats and gloves as well as sweatshirts that said “Chicago” above a shamrock. They walked over from their home in River North, hoping that the return of the dyeing was a sign that more Chicago traditions, such as summer street festivals, will return this summer. “The beauty of it was normally there’s a ton of people up here, you can hardly get to the railing, so it made it a little more convenient this year,” Smith, 69, said. “Just one of those traditions we don’t ever want to pass up. It’s a biggie.” The two, who are Irish American, said they had to come over Saturday morning once they were tipped off that the mayor authorized its return. “We’re happy that Mayor Lightfoot decided to continue with this tradition because we truly missed it last year, as a lot of other things in 2020,” Jones, 59, said. “But it’s a beautiful day.” The Riverwalk will be closed for the day, and city officials are calling on people who happen on the scene to snap a quick selfie with the iridescent shamrock water in the background, then move along. Chicago police details were posted along the bridge as well. “While the typical event will not take place as it has in other years, the City will still be partnering with the Chicago Plumbers Union Local 130 to honor the long-standing tradition by dyeing the Chicago River green,” a Lightfoot spokesman said in a statement. “In order to minimize crowds and avoid congregating, the City opted not to publicize this ahead of time, and the dyeing will take place earlier than the traditional Saturday morning event. Furthermore, the Riverwalk will be closed on Saturday and Chicagoans looking to see the River during the day are urged to ‘keep it moving’ and celebrate safely and responsibly.” The mayor already called off Saturday’s annual downtown St. Patrick’s Day parade, which will significantly drive down the number of potential rubberneckers in the neighborhood. The dye boats usually start dumping at 9 a.m., before the parade kicks off nearby at noon. The clandestine river dyeing is just part of the mayor’s push to allow residents to celebrate on what’s traditionally one of the busiest weekends of the year for bars and restaurants, while also enforcing rules to prevent people from congregating too tightly. The city also is to make sure they aren’t more crowded than the city’s coronavirus guidelines allow. When Lightfoot abruptly canceled the city’s 2020 parades and the river dyeing just days before they were to take place in the early days of the pandemic, . Advertisement That never happened, and this year she called off the parades again for the same reason. But Lightfoot is desperate to show residents, businesses and tourists the city is coming back to life, or at least preparing to do so. Since the greening of the river can be quickly completed by a couple of boat crews dropping dye into the waves, it became a way to at least nod at Chicago’s pre-COVID St. Patrick’s Day traditions. The river dyeing started in 1962, reportedly when Mayor Richard J. Daley suggested turning part of Lake Michigan green for St. Patrick’s Day, and a plumbers union official . Twitter , Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement

The Chicago River glowed Kelly green downtown this St. Patrick’s Day weekend after all, but the usual cheering throngs crowding the banks during the annual dumping of the dye were much thinner. In a remarkable attempt to give Chicagoans a bit of mid-March normalcy, while also trying to avoid the kind of large public gathering she’s still discouraging during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Lori Lightfoot sanctioned the famous river dyeing to proceed Saturday without confirming the exact time, marveling passing revelers, dog walkers and joggers alike. Advertisement The first boat sliced across...

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John Byrne

Alice Yin

The Chicago Tribune is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are named), it remains the most-read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region. It had the 6th highest circulation for American newspapers in 2017.

Chicago River dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day weekend, prompting selfies and wooing: ‘It’s a little bit of normalcy’

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