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San Antonio River Walk turned green for holiday
San Antonio celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a lucky tradition, putting green dye in the river.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - San Antonio celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a lucky tradition, putting green dye in the river.
Twenty-five gallons of green dye was poured in on Saturday. The dye is eco-friendly and lasts a few days depending on river conditions.
As of Tuesday, March 17, the river has largely returned to its normal color.
The backstory:
"There's a little bit left today, but it was definitely more remarkable on Saturday," Michelle Moon, VP partners, experience, and events at Visit San Antonio said.
Moon says San Antonio has been dying the river green for St. Patrick's Day since 1969. They also rename the river "Shannon" after the river in Ireland.
The tradition started because, after the World's Fair in 1968, the River Walk's architect and the community wanted to create a reason for people to explore the area.
"Over the course of the last several decades, we keep adding and growing the calendar of events," Moon said.
Dig deeper:
Over the weekend, there was a big parade and lots of festivities. There were performances from Irish dancers and musicians. Many businesses had fun specials.
Moon says tens of thousands of people were at the River Walk.
There was also a coronation for "River Walk Royalty," which raises scholarship money for hospitality students at local schools.
"It's just a lot of fun to come down and celebrate the Irish heritage that is very much alive here in San Antonio as a community," Moon said.
Melissa Barrera, who was visiting from Victoria, Texas, was at the event over the weekend. She had on her green wig and enjoyed drinking green beer.
"Had an amazing time. We actually did what we call a little pub crawl, we had festivities at every place that we could," she said.
This isn't the only big event on the River Walk. There are lots of free, family-friendly events throughout the year.
"There's just always something fun to see and do. We want to create a reason to come down, not only to visit San Antonio, but if you're a local resident, come see something new and fresh and fun," Moon said.
The next big parade on the River Walk will be to celebrate Pride.
For more information on upcoming events, click here.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Angela Shen