River O’Green Festival returns following 2-year hiatus

TAMPA, Fla. - Despite a chill in the air, people packed Tampa's downtown Riverwalk to watch the Hillsborough River turn green Sunday in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tampa’s River O’Green Festival returned to downtown Tampa. The event kicked off with the traditional dyeing of the river promptly at 11 a.m. 

It takes about 300 gallons of non-toxic, biodegradable dye to turn the Hillsborough River a bright lime green. City officials did a test run on March 4 to make sure everything went off without a hitch on Sunday. 

The St. Patrick’s Day celebration was originally scheduled for Saturday, but organizers decided to move it to Sunday when severe storms threatened to put a damper on the festivities. 

Though the storms left behind some damage, the cooler, windy weather behind the system had some festival attendees bundling up in their best green garb. As the day wore on and the temperatures rose, some festival-goers lost the layers but kept their green plastic top hats and shamrock headbands. 

The free event ran from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. with live entertainment, music, food trucks alongside the lime green river. 

LINK: Learn more about the event here.