Chicago St Patrick's Day 2024

Live Stream, River Dyeing, Parades, TV & Event Schedule

Wildly popular in Chicago, the city transforms into a vibrant Irish haven to celebrate St Patrick's Day. From the iconic river dyeing to the fabulously lively parades, Chicago has a series of events throughout the day that brings the crowds out in their thousands to celebrate.

Take in one of the unique marvels of the weekend, as the Chicago River is dyed green to commemorate St Patrick's Day and head to one of the many Irish bars that will be packed with revelers and enjoy this

The Chicago St Patrick's Day festivities are popularly noted as having one of the most unusual celebrations anywhere in the world, with the amazing spectacle of the Chicago River being dyed bright green to mark the occasion! The St Pat's events attract crowds estimated at up to 500,000 across the day, which is a huge turnout by anyone's standards.

There is a parade too of course, which is very popular and well attended. Known to be one if the country's largest St Patrick's Day Parades, it is now watched by a larger audience thanks to the addition of live TV coverage and an online live stream. The signature event just has to be the river dyeing, so if you're in town on St Pat's, get yourself down to the Michigan Avenue or Columbus Drive bridges and have a look.

Chicago River Dyeing

The parade and river dyeing in Chicago will be taking place this year on Saturday 16th March at 10am.

The Chicago river dyeing, which has been carried out by the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Union for almost 68 years, starts the day off at 9.00am. The green colour tends to last in the water for several hours, but it will of course be the brightest at the start so it pays to get there early. If you get there early doors you'll be surprised to see that the initial dye is orange, then the magic takes over so we see the gorgeous Irish green!

Recommended viewing points are:

Michigan Avenue Bridge (East side)

Columbus Drive Bridge (West side)

Wacker Drive between the 2 bridges

Downtown St Patrick's Day Parade

The parade normally gets underway at 12.15pm on Saturday 16th. It's pretty much a straight line so the route is easy enough to describe:

Start at Balbo and Columbus

Follow Columbus Drive

End outside the Chicago Art Institute

The main viewing stand for the parade is located in front of the Buckingham Fountain, while Grant Park at the start of the parade is also a popular spot.

There is also VIP Grandstand seating available on the north side of the parade reviewing stand, located close to Congrees and Columbus. You can buy tickets online here.

South Side Irish Parade

Almost as popular as the downtown parade, the South Side Irish parade in the Beverly area actually takes place on St Patrick's Day itself. But this year it will be Sunday 17th March 2024.

Starting at noon, the parade travels down Western Avenue from 103rd to 115th Street and is typically watched by a crowd estimated at around 150,000.

Deer Park St Paddy's Day Run

Another popular part of the celebrations is the St Paddy's Day run. Choose from the 5 or 10k run/walk. This gets underway at 8am in Deer Park on Sunday 17th March and includes 5k and 10k distances. More details here

TV & Live Streaming

The live coverage of the St Patrick's day celebrations from Chicago is provided by local TV network ABC7, who will have a live broadcast of the main events, and is now also available as a live online stream via their official website:

ABC7 Online Stream

See live coverage of all the top St Patrick's Day parades, including from Dublin and New York City on our live streaming page:

St Patrick's Day live

Hotels and Accommodation

If you're in Chicago for St Patrick's Day then you'll need to get your reservation made as far is advance as possible to get the best prices.

You can search and check availability for local hotels here.

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