South Side Irish Parade

The South Side hosts this annual St. Patrick's Day celebration, championing the holiday in some of Chicago's most historically Irish neighborhoods. The procession of floats, bagpipes and marching bands moves north on Western Avenue, beginning at 103rd Street and ending at 115th Street. Though it was once commonplace to find attendees imbibing along the route, there has been a crackdown on drunken behavior in recent years in an effort to make parades throughout the city more family-friendly (in other words, the green beer can wait until after the event).