A Chicago ‘high holiday,' St. Patrick's Day celebrated with green-dyed river and thousands for downtown parade
CHICAGO — Crowds began forming early Saturday morning in downtown Chicago to kick off the city's St. Patrick's Day weekend, with thousands lining Wacker Drive from Wolf Point to DuSable Lake Shore Drive to watch the traditional dyeing of the Chicago River.
The gusty winds didn't spoil the festivities. Just after 10 a.m., a sightseeing boat packed with members of the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Local Union 130 UA began chugging west, spraying fluorescent green water into the river, continuing a tradition the union started in 1962.
Onlookers cheered and played traditional Irish music as several small power boats zig-zagged behind the plumbers' vessel.
Lakeshore East resident Kate Liebelt, wearing a green wig and carrying her dog Jennie, took a boat tour as the plumbers continued pouring dye into the water. Liebelt attended the event with her nine-year-old neighbor Glayden McQuade and said she never misses the riverfront celebration.
'By far one of the happiest, most fun days in downtown Chicago is celebrating the river being dyed green,' she said. 'It brings the community together to celebrate St. Paddy's Day and the start of spring.'
South Loop residents Tom and Sue Keegan boarded a boat at Freedom Boat Club's Streeterville dock and said they don't miss the event regardless of the weather. Both are members of Old St. Patrick's Church in the West Loop and said their Irish heritage makes the day important.
'We call this a high holiday,' Tom Keegan said.
It took the plumbers about 45 minutes to transform the murky gray river to bright green, a color expected to last for several days.
After the dyeing, thousands of residents and tourists streamed toward Grant Park to watch the downtown Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade. The half-mile parade, in its 70th year, kicked off around 12:15 p.m. to the sounds of bagpipes and drums played by members of the Chicago Police Department. Marchers assembled at the intersection of Columbus and Balbo drives and headed north to Monroe Street.
Marching bands from several military service branches led the way, followed by high school bands, Irish dance companies, a group of American miniature horses and thousands of union members and their families.
The parade is always an opportunity for local politicians to make an appearance. Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker were on hand, waving to the crowd that was densely packed along Columbus Drive.
Justin McCarty brought his family from Springfield, Missouri. It's the first time they've ever attended.
'We've got a parade in Springfield, but not at this scale,' he said.
A union pipefitter, McCarty was dressed head-to-toe in green, including a matching top hat. He said the parade was also an opportunity to show solidarity with union marchers, who included auto workers, ironworkers and many others.
'It's a brotherhood thing,' he said.
Members of United Auto Workers Local 551 said they marched in the parade to celebrate winning a new contract after participating in the 2023 national strike against GM, Ford and Stellantis.
'We got a damn good contract, the best we've gotten in 30 years,' said Lenny Faria, an assembly line worker at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant on the Far South Side.
UAW 551 member Kaelan Harris, a forklift driver at the Ford plant, said he usually attends the Northwest Side Irish St. Patrick's Day Parade but that this year it was important to join thousands of members at the city's largest event.
'We're all in the union together, and if this parade looks like a hit, we're going to do it next year,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
American weather presenters say coverage of wildfires on the Prairies has intensified
EDMONTON — Three American TV weather presenters say their viewers' appetite is soaring for information on the swaths of wildfire smoke drifting in from the Canadian Prairies. "The smoke has really dominated our weather forecasting headlines," says Jacob Morse, a meteorologist for KFYR-TV in Bismarck, N.D. Morse said North Dakota has been hazy all week due to smoke coming from Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where fires have been raging for more than two weeks, forcing more than 30,000 people from their homes. "We've been talking about it constantly. We're educating viewers on where the fires are and then why the smoke comes here (and the) communities impacted," he said. Eric Snitil, chief meteorologist for WROC-TV in Rochester, N.Y., says a few years ago, his news network had two or three smoke graphics it projected on its green screens, mainly because of wildfires elsewhere in the United States. "Now we couldn't be building these fast enough because of Canada," Snitil said. "It's forcing us meteorologists to not just look out for weather in our own backyard here in New York. I find myself now looking at data for Canada and what's the fire conditions looking like many thousands of miles away." He said the appetite from viewers has grown because smoke affects such a large number of people at one time. Bill Kardas, a chief meteorologist of WKTV in Utica, N.Y., says weather presenters across the U.S. have been ramping up their coverage of Canadian wildfire smoke since 2023. As Canadians dealt with their worst wildfire season that year, he said his state turned apocalyptically orange from the smoke. Snitil said meteorologists in New York weren't prepared. "Most people around here never experienced anything like the 2023 wildfire smoulder," said Kardas, a weatherman of 20 years. "There really wasn't a lot of knowledge as to what was generating this, why is this happening, is this normal, has this ever happened before." This year, Kardas said his viewers began to notice smoke in the air last week as blazes on the Canadian Prairies intensified. It has prevented many Americans from leaving their homes, he said. "We're 2,000 miles away and we're feeling the effects of this," he said. "I can't imagine how horrible it must be to be dealing with it in proximity." Mike Flannigan is a professor in the University of Alberta's department of renewable resources and the director of the Western Partnership for Wildland Fire Science. He said there are two main reasons why Canadian smoke is making international headlines. First is that there is more smoke and wildfires to begin with, he said. This year's fire season — the second worst since the 2023 wildfire season — has seen wildfires consume 3.7 million hectares, six times the area of Prince Edward Island. "And there's probably more (smoke) than that because our fires today are burning more intensely and more deeply," Flannigan said. Smoke from the flames this year has also crossed oceans and even been detected in Europe. He said people are paying attention to Canadian wildfires globally because they are more aware of the dangers of smoke as science has evolved. "I'm a fire guy. We talk about good fire and bad fire. There's no such thing as good smoke. It's bad, bad, bad. And it's becoming more frequent," Flannigan said. "It affects IQ, it affects fetus development and of course, lungs. It's full of thousands of chemicals." He said he hopes the global spread of Canadian wildfire smoke encourages more people to think about human-caused climate change. "We can prevent some of these wildfires through fire bans, forest closures, education," Flannigan said. "If (the Earth continues) to warm, we're going to have longer fire seasons, carry more lightning and drier fields which promote fires." This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2025. Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Hamilton Spectator
16 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
American weather presenters say coverage of wildfires on the Prairies has intensified
EDMONTON - Three American TV weather presenters say their viewers' appetite is soaring for information on the swaths of wildfire smoke drifting in from the Canadian Prairies. 'The smoke has really dominated our weather forecasting headlines,' says Jacob Morse, a meteorologist for KFYR-TV in Bismarck, N.D. Morse said North Dakota has been hazy all week due to smoke coming from Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where fires have been raging for more than two weeks, forcing more than 30,000 people from their homes. 'We've been talking about it constantly. We're educating viewers on where the fires are and then why the smoke comes here (and the) communities impacted,' he said. Eric Snitil, chief meteorologist for WROC-TV in Rochester, N.Y., says a few years ago, his news network had two or three smoke graphics it projected on its green screens, mainly because of wildfires elsewhere in the United States. 'Now we couldn't be building these fast enough because of Canada,' Snitil said. 'It's forcing us meteorologists to not just look out for weather in our own backyard here in New York. I find myself now looking at data for Canada and what's the fire conditions looking like many thousands of miles away.' He said the appetite from viewers has grown because smoke affects such a large number of people at one time. Bill Kardas, a chief meteorologist of WKTV in Utica, N.Y., says weather presenters across the U.S. have been ramping up their coverage of Canadian wildfire smoke since 2023. As Canadians dealt with their worst wildfire season that year, he said his state turned apocalyptically orange from the smoke. Snitil said meteorologists in New York weren't prepared. 'Most people around here never experienced anything like the 2023 wildfire smoulder,' said Kardas, a weatherman of 20 years. 'There really wasn't a lot of knowledge as to what was generating this, why is this happening, is this normal, has this ever happened before.' This year, Kardas said his viewers began to notice smoke in the air last week as blazes on the Canadian Prairies intensified. It has prevented many Americans from leaving their homes, he said. 'We're 2,000 miles away and we're feeling the effects of this,' he said. 'I can't imagine how horrible it must be to be dealing with it in proximity.' Mike Flannigan is a professor in the University of Alberta's department of renewable resources and the director of the Western Partnership for Wildland Fire Science. He said there are two main reasons why Canadian smoke is making international headlines. First is that there is more smoke and wildfires to begin with, he said. This year's fire season — the second worst since the 2023 wildfire season — has seen wildfires consume 3.7 million hectares, six times the area of Prince Edward Island. 'And there's probably more (smoke) than that because our fires today are burning more intensely and more deeply,' Flannigan said. Smoke from the flames this year has also crossed oceans and even been detected in Europe. He said people are paying attention to Canadian wildfires globally because they are more aware of the dangers of smoke as science has evolved. 'I'm a fire guy. We talk about good fire and bad fire. There's no such thing as good smoke. It's bad, bad, bad. And it's becoming more frequent,' Flannigan said. 'It affects IQ, it affects fetus development and of course, lungs. It's full of thousands of chemicals.' He said he hopes the global spread of Canadian wildfire smoke encourages more people to think about human-caused climate change. 'We can prevent some of these wildfires through fire bans, forest closures, education,' Flannigan said. 'If (the Earth continues) to warm, we're going to have longer fire seasons, carry more lightning and drier fields which promote fires.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Flooding risk as storms set to bring over 5 inches of rain to Minnesota
Flooding risk as storms set to bring over 5 inches of rain to Minnesota originally appeared on Bring Me The News. Heavy showers and thunderstorms could bring flooding to parts of Minnesota starting Friday. The National Weather Service says consistent rain will move slowly east Friday morning, continuing on and off through the weekend and into early next week, with central Minnesota and the Twin Cities potentially seeing the largest amounts. In its forecast discussion, the rain system will be interspersed with thunderstorms, some of which could turn strong to severe in the late afternoon and evening over the coming days, similar to what happened on Thursday. The rain will bring a flash flooding risk on Friday morning, with the NWS saying: "A very moist environment combined with warm rain processes will lead to efficient rainfall rates. If any training convection can occur we [expect] rainfall totals of 3-4" [and] possibly even localized areas up to 5" may occur." Sign up for our BREAKING WEATHER newsletters A flash flooding alert has been issued for south-central Minnesota by the NWS Weather Prediction Center, which states: ".Bands of slow moving heavy rainfall with localized hourly totals of 1-2" may result in 5"+ totals through 7am CDT. "Isolated to scattered instances of flash flooding are likely (and may be locally significant)." There is further flooding risk in the longer term as well, with weather officials noting that accumulation of rain over the coming days could cause areal (occurring over a prolonged period of rain) or flash flooding in an area that includes the Twin Cities. The American model is currently showing totals in excess of five inches over the next five days, with parts of the metro seeing 3-4 inches. "Areas that see rounds of rain 2-3 days in a row could see amounts of 3" to possibly even 5"," the NWS says. "The Grand Ensemble mean currently favors highest precipitation amounts across central MN (including the Twin Cities metro) into west-central WI through next Wednesday. "Areal and flash flooding is definitely a possibility through mid-next week, especially for low-lying and urban areas." Parts of Minnesota already received a decent soaking of rain during Thursday's storms, with more than 2 inches reported in Ortonville, and over 1.2 inches recorded in Brooklyn Park in the Twin Cities. This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
