St. Patrick’s Day In Chicago: The Ultimate Eat, Drink & Do Guide

Planning to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Chicago? Here's everything you need to know about river dyeing, parades, pubs, parties, food and more.

Right off the bat, how lucky are we that St. Patrick's day is on a Saturday this year. So let's start at the beginning of of one of the nation's best citywide celebrations.

Dyeing the Chicago River green

The process of turning the river green starts at 9 a.m. and if you've never seen how it's done in person, you can't miss it. And the dye that's used isn't green. The 45 pounds of vegetable oil used to turn the Chicago river from nasty green to bright green is orange.

Here's some other cool facts about the river dyeing.

Downtown Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade

The parade kicks off at 12 noon at the corner of Balbo Avenue and Columbus Drive, then traveling north on Columbus Drive. Just follow the bagpipes. More info HERE.

Chicago's best Irish pubs

There is no shortage of great Irish places for fish & chips, corned beef, whiskey and green beer.

Best St. Patrick's Day Bars in Chicago (CBS Chicago)

Drink more, walk less: 17 bars near the St. Patrick's Day river dyeing ceremony (Chicago Tribune)

[H/T: Timeout.com St. Patrick's Day in Chicago]