SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Mayor Pete Buttigieg started the dispensing of green dye into the East Race with a drumroll and bagpipes Saturday afternoon.

It takes two gallons of tracing dye and close to 175 gallons of water to turn the river green.

"We have to get a permit from the DNR with the state of Indiana. We get that every year. We tell them we're using the same trace dye. The same source, the same river stretch. And it's pretty much automatic," said Terry Meehan of Fiddler's Hearth.

The St. Patrick's Day celebration marks the fifth year of the dying of the East Race.

They plan to keep the tradition alive for many years to come.