The Zumbro River Dyed Green for St. Patrick’s Day?

Did you head downtown over your lunch hour today and catch Rochester's big St. Patrick's Day Parade this year? How about the Zumbro River -- did you see it decked out in green to celebrate the luck 'o the Irish?

No? Well, that's probably because neither of those two things took place. St. Paul is probably the closest city to us that really goes all out in celebration of St. Patrick's Day -- and even there, nobody turns the Mississippi River green. (At least that I'm aware of...) Wouldn't it be cool, though, seeing as the mighty Zumbro winds its way right through downtown Rochester, to see it dyed a festive shade of green for a few days around St. Patrick's Day each year?

USA Today lists the many cities across the country that dye a waterway in their community green in honor of St. Patrick's Day. In Chicago, they started dyeing the Chicago River green last weekend to get ready for today's big doings -- a feat that has been around awhile, according to the article

"The tradition dates back to 1962 when mayor Richard J. Daley and the chairman of the parade Stephen Bailey first did it. Bailey got the idea after realizing the dye used to detect leaks from plumbing into the river was a perfect shade of "Irish green," according to the Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade committee.

Nowadays, the city turns the river green by dumping roughly 40 pounds of a secret formula powder into the river, Tom Rowan, the head of the river crew told The Chicago Tribune. Boats help churn the water, which mixes the environmentally-friendly powder, into the river turning it a maximum green in about 45 minutes, Rowan said."

As for us here in the Med City, we'll just have to use our imagination if we want to visualize the Zumbro River in various hues of green. Of course, depending on how much celebrating you do today, that task might not be that tough to do...