When Chicago's St. Patrick's Day parades were canceled. for a second year in a row, it seemed that the annual dyeing of the Chicago River would suffer the same fate. But the Chicago Plumbers Union Local 130 quietly set out on the stretch of the river between the Loop and River North this morning, dumping orange dye into the water without the usual crowds of onlookers cheering at the spectacle.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Mayor Lori Lightfoot gave the tradition the green light without confirming a time or making a formal announcement in the days leading up to Saturday. The Chicago Riverwalk has been closed for the day to discourage groups from gathering to marvel at the bright green water, while police have been posted on many of the bridges to encourage onlooker to snap a photo and keep moving.
While we weren't expecting the river to run green today, we're happy to see a beloved local tradition make a comeback—even if there is a long way to go before Chicago returns to relative normalcy. Check out some photos of the river dyeing below.
The fabric of modern America is woven through with the green of the Emerald Isle, and what better symbol of that than the 41st shade of green of the Chicago River. A hopeful green in 2021 pic.twitter.com/kbyfRvVtaX
— Ireland CG Chicago (@IrelandChicago) March 13, 2021
A few more fun pictures from the surprise dying of the #Chicago River this morning for an early St. Patrick’s Day! #chicagoriver #ChicagoScanner #greenriver #chicagogreenriver Happy Weekend, everybody! ☘️ pic.twitter.com/nwd0hKHhhx
— Kim Bruna (@Kim_Bruna) March 13, 2021
A few more fun pictures from the surprise dying of the #Chicago River this morning for an early St. Patrick’s Day! #chicagoriver #ChicagoScanner #greenriver #chicagogreenriver Happy Weekend, everybody! ☘️ pic.twitter.com/nwd0hKHhhx
— Kim Bruna (@Kim_Bruna) March 13, 2021
💚First time seeing it in person!☘️💚#chicagoriver #StPatricksDay pic.twitter.com/uDvW0YcsqA
— Nina Florez (@NinaFlorezRueda) March 13, 2021
We have a green river! Surprise dyeing of the Chicago River this morning. #news #chicago #FillYourHeartWithIreland #StPatricksDay pic.twitter.com/Kp0Z3yPDBZ
— Barry Butler (@barrybutler9) March 13, 2021
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