🎺🍀 Shamrocks, Bands & Bragging Rights! St. Paddy’s Parade (Part 3) 💚🥁
Details
🎺🍀 Shamrocks, Bands & Bragging Rights! St. Paddy’s Parade (Part 3) 💚🥁
St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Columbus near Buckingham Fountain
Part 3 of 3: River Dyeing ➝ Brunch ➝ Parade
We’ll take part in a long-standing Chicago tradition and watch the St. Patrick’s Day Parade along Columbus Drive 🎺🍀. The parade steps off at Columbus & Balbo, travels north on Columbus, and concludes at Monroe Street. The main viewing stand is in front of Buckingham Fountain, where dancers and bands pause to wave to the crowd.
👉 Plan: We’ll try to meet near the fountain around 12:15 PM (easy landmark), if it’s not too crowded. Please be flexible—crowds can shift plans quickly. Check back for location updates.
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📅 EVENT DETAILS
Saturday, March 14, 2026
🕥 12:15 PM – 2:30 PM
📍 Balbo & Columbus — Buckingham Fountain area
Meet: Corner of Balbo & Columbus, then we’ll walk toward the fountain.(Come up the back side thru Maggie Daley Park and onto the Lakefront Trail to avoid all the crowds on Columbus or Michigan Ave
Viewing area: Southeast side of Columbus (Lake Michigan side) near the TV announcer & stands.
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☘️ THIS IS A 3-PART EVENT (ALL ON 3/14/26)
Tentative Itinerary
• 8:00–10:20 AM — Chicago River turns green 💚
• 10:30 AM–12:00 PM — Brunch at Avli on the Park 🍳🥂
• 12:15–2:30 PM — St. Patrick’s Day Parade (Columbus/Balbo) 🎺🍀
(We usually miss the first ~10-15 minutes of the parade.)
👕 Dress in layers 🧥 — we’ll be outdoors for a while.
⏱️ Times/locations may change — please check back.
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🔗 SEPARATE EVENT SIGN-UPS (REQUIRED)
To keep things manageable, each portion is listed separately:
🌊 River Dyeing (Before Brunch & Parade):
https://www.meetup.com/windy-city-wanderers/events/312985358/
🍽️ Brunch at Avli on the Park (Before Parade):
https://www.meetup.com/windy-city-wanderers/events/312990305/
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☘️ A LITTLE CHICAGO HISTORY
🇮🇪 Chicago’s Irish population grew rapidly in the mid-1800s, but St. Patrick’s Day celebrations didn’t fully take hold until the 20th century.
🌊 Green River: First dyed in 1962, thanks to Stephen Bailey of the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Union. A pollution-detecting dye turned out to be the perfect Irish green.
• Then: 100 lbs (lasted a week!)
• Now: ~40 lbs (about 5 hours)
🎺 Parade: The first official parade was held in 1956 under Mayor Richard J. Daley, featuring:
• 65 marching units
• 5,000 marchers
• 11 bands
• 29 floats
• 100,000 spectators
Today, Chicago celebrates with two major parades and the iconic green river 💚.
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🚧 TRAVEL & LOGISTICS
⚠️ After 9:00 AM, several bridges CLOSE — arrive early or risk being stuck on the wrong side. Several street closures for the parade so plan accordingly
🚇 Public Transit:
CTA Trip Planner or Google Maps
https://www.transitchicago.com/planatrip/
🚗 Driving & Parking:
• Metered street parking is very limited
• Best options: SpotHero or ParkWhiz
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🚨 NO-SHOW POLICY (PLEASE READ)
• 3 no-shows without updating your RSVP = 3-month event freeze
• RSVP cut-off = event start time
• If running late, message the host directly
• Failure to check in counts as a no-show
• Continued no-shows may result in removal from the group
💚☘️ Nothing says Chicago like a green river, great food, and a parade! ☘️💚Can’t wait to celebrate with you!