St. Patrick's Day: Tampa celebrates Irish culture with annual River O' Green Fest
TAMPA, Fla. - It’s a giant party that lucky leprechauns look forward to every year.
Thousands lined up across downtown Tampa to get a waterfront view on Saturday morning, as Mayor Jane Castor gave crews the GREEN light to transform a stretch of the Hillsborough River into a shamrock shake for the annual River O' Green Fest.
She was also joined by former mayor Bob Buckhorn, who started the tradition back in 2012.
"I'm really thankful that Mayor Jane continued this," Buckhorn said. "It really is a celebration of the amazing diversity of this community."
According to the city, the green coloring is safe for the environment, humans, and animals, and flushes out a few hours after the event is over.
RELATED: St. Patrick’s Day: Tampa to dye river green for annual celebration
"We start off with about 250 pounds of dye powder, and we blend that down into 280 gallons of water," said Water production manager for the city of Tampa, John Ring.
"It's completely safe for the environment, it's biodegradable," added Rachel Radawec with Tampa Downtown Partnership.
Traffic on the water was heavy as people spent the afternoon boating, splashing and even surfing through the emerald waves.
Back on land, everyone sported their greatest and greenest ensembles, ready to raise a glass, or a pint, and act Irish for the day.
From music to art and festive Irish games, the culture was on full display at Curtis Hixon Park.
"We wanted to do more than just the green river, we really focused on Irish heritage this year, so we have dancers, singers, games, poetry, maps, there's something for everybody here," Radwewec stressed.
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