St. Patrick's Day Events in Chicago!

If you are looking for a fun weekend trip and a great way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, try visiting Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago will be celebrating St. Patrick's Day in a variety of ways this year.

The 2007 annual Chicago Saint Patrick's Day Parade will be held on Saturday March 17^th at noon starting on Columbus Drive.

The parade is typically held the day before the actual holiday in order to give families a chance to participate in the fun without having to pull the kids out of school. This year, however, the 17^th falls on a Saturday.

The parade will be starting at Balbo and Columbus and will proceed north on Columbus drive. The viewing stand will be located in front of Buckingham Fountain.

The annual tradition of dyeing the Chicago River will also take place on Saturday the 17^th. The river is scheduled to be dyed at 10:45am and will be best viewed at the bridges at Michigan Ave or Columbus Drive.

Public Transportation is highly recommended to best celebrate the festivities due to parking. Heightened security is set to be implemented this year on parts of Lake Shore Drive, Columbus Drive and Michigan Ave. Due to the added security, these roads will be slow and difficult to travel on. Patrons are encouraged to use the blue or red line trains and exit at any of the loop stops. For travelers on the brown, green or orange line trains they should exit at any of the stops along Wabash or walk east to Columbus Drive.

Prior to the St. Patrick Day parade there will be a Parade Queen Contest on February 18^th. The contest will include a city wide search for "Chicago's Fairest Colleen" to be queen. One lady and four additional princesses will be selected as Chicago's St. Patrick's Day Parade royalty.

In order to be eligible for queen, any Irish girl who has not been married and is between the ages of 17-28 may apply. The contest will be held at 1pm on Sunday February 18, in Stephen Bailey Auditorium on Washington Blvd in Chicago.

There was also a corned beef and cabbage dinner held on January 26^th at Plumbers Hall in order to raise funds for the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

There is also a South Side Irish St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday March 11 starting at noon from 103^rd & Western Ave.

This parade honors the Beverly Area Planning Association as the special honoree. The parade will be having a Beverly Breast Cancer Walk as this year's Grand Marshall.

The talented marching and bagpipe bands participating in the South Side Parade are what make it even more special. Bands come from all over the United States to share their music with thousands of spectators and fans.

Bagpipe or marching band members who are interested in participating in the South Side parade are encouraged to contact via email at southsideirishparade@yahoo.com.

Chicago also has many fabulous Irish pubs including Keegan's Pub at 10618 s Western Ave, The Irish Oak at 3511 N Clark St, Chicago IL and Mystic Celt at 3343 N Southport Ave in Chicago.

Mystic Celt is known for its Irish interior which meets the upscale pub atmosphere.

Another way to make this year's St. Patrick's Day memorable is to visit O'Brien's at 1528 N. Wells St in Chicago. This year O'Briens will be hosting their 14^th annual "Oh, Danny Boy" singing contest. Sign up on Thursday and audition to be in the qualifying round. The contest will begin Friday night at 6pm. Also at O'Briens, there will be an Irish lunch buffet Friday as well as a day's worth of musical performances in the bar and beer garden. On Saturday at O'Briens, Michael McDermott will be playing at 7:30pm with no cover charge.

At the Irish American Heritage Center in Chicago located on 4626 N. Knox Ave there will be a festival beginning at 11:30am with a mass. After this there will be Irish dancers, bagpipers and musicians at the 5^th Province Pub. Performers at the pub will include Tim O'Shea and Jonathan Roche, the Matt Stedman Band, and Tony Leonard and his band. The meal will include corned beef and cabbage at a price of $10.

There will also be a celebration of St. Patrick's Day at Finn McCool's located on 15 W Division St in Chicago. The festivities include Irish menu items and drink specials.

Live music, Irish Menu items and more are also a part of the party at Fitzer's Pub on March 10, 11, 17, & 17 from 11am to 2am.

There are also several other pubs hosting special St. Patrick's Day specials and lots of corned beef. For more information on any of these events please visit, www.thecaltourist.com/stpaddy.htm