CLICK HERE for a comprehensive list of 2020 Summer Festivals (May through September).
No surprise for those of us who live here, Chicago has been named the #1 place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day according to the personal-finance website WalletHub. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that we have the most Irish Pubs & Restaurants per Capita in the entire country.
In Chicago, St. Patrick’s celebrations have already started and will continue throughout the month with the biggest day this year being March 14. Here’s the schedule:
9:00 am. Chicago River Dyeing The main show takes place between State and Columbus; the water starts turning green at 9 a.m. and usually keeps its brightest colors for about five hours.
Noon: Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The procession travels north on Columbus Drive, beginning at Balbo Drive and ending at Monroe Drive.
On-going: Parties, pub crawls, cruises and more throughout the city and neighborhoods.
Back to the Survey
In order to determine that Chicago is the best city for celebrating Irish-American heritage, WalletHub compared 200 of the largest U.S. cities across 17 key metrics, ranging from Irish pubs and restaurants per capita to lowest price for a three-star hotel on St. Patrick’s Day to weather forecast.
Here’s the results (1=Best, 100=Avg.):
- 96th – % of Irish Population
- 1st – Irish Pubs & Restaurants per Capita
- 18th – Access to Bars
- 1st – St. Patrick’s Day Parties & Festivals per Capita
- 46th – Avg. Price of St. Patrick’s Day Party Ticket
- 3rd – Avg. Beer Price
- 59th – DUI Fatalities per Capita
- 7th – Weather Forecast for St. Patrick’s Day
- 11th – Lowest Price for Three-Star Hotel on St. Patrick’s Day
For the full report, click here.
Just for Fun
- 174%: Increase in beer sales on St. Patrick’s Day compared to the rest of the year (153% more spirits are sold compared with the average day).
- $1.6 Million: Market value of a leprechaun’s pot of gold.
- $6.16 Billion: Amount spent collectively on St. Patrick’s Day 2020 ($43 per person celebrating).
- 32.1 Million: Number of Americans who claim Irish ancestry, second only to German and 7 times Ireland’s population.
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