St. Patrick's Day

I'm no expert, but that dude doesn't really have the authentic "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" look going for him.

And, by "this" I mean dyeing the Chicago River bright green.

If you really want to go out and live it up on St. Patty's Day, you might think you have to go elsewhere to get the full experience. A new study says you should stay right here.

In the eyes of a child, candy is the key to a successful parade.

We’ve all heard there was a saint and something to do with snakes in Ireland and now we have parades and drink green beer. But what do we really know about St. Patrick’s Day?

It's not hard to find a shamrock and it's not hard to find good corned beef and cabbage, either. Here are some Rockford spots serving the Irish-American tradition.

Get your green on and get ready for St. Patrick's Day in Rockford.

It's been a St. Patrick's Day tradition in Chicago for years, the traditional dyeing of the Chicago River green.

Due to cultural shifts, expectations of personal space, and of course, a harassment lawsuit, I wasn't too worried about being pinched if I didn't wear the color green today. Getting a good pinch for making the poor sartorial choice of non-green clothing was a standard punishment back when I was in school, but now it appears that tradition has gone the way of the dinosaurs.

I love and look forward to Saint Patrick's Day. Granted, my enthusiasm for the day is a bit less than when I was younger, when friends and I would attempt to seriously deplete Rockford's supply of green beer...to no avail (although we often helped deplete Rockford's supply of aspirin and Gatorade the day after St. Patty's).