Chicago’s ‘rite of passage’: Crowds flock to watch river turn emerald green

Danielle Crawford has been in Chicago less than a year while her boyfriend has lived in the city for over four decades, and both watched the Chicago River turn emerald green for the first time Saturday morning.

“I feel like this was a rite of passage if I was going to start to live a Chicago life,” said Crawford, who came from the San Francisco Bay Area and now lives in Ravenswood.

A sea of green revelers gathered early Saturday by the handful to watch the Chicago River be dyed for the 64th time as the city celebrates St. Patrick’s Day.

Some took selfies and others laughed as Sabrina Carpenter’s melodically upbeat hit “Espresso” played over nearby speakers.

Many spectators were bundled up watching along Wacker Drive near Dearborn and Clark streets as members of the Plumbers Union Local 130 dyed the river green with an orange vegetable-based powder that’s mixed by boats into the river. Crawford, who is still getting acclimated to Midwest weather, was in a coat and blue gloves watching along the Clark Street Bridge.

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• This report was published in partnership with the Chicago Sun-Times. For more, visit chicago.suntimes.com.