Miami University students at the Oxford campus are not alone in their Green Beer Day celebrations. Miami alumni Phil Thompson and Ed Morgan, class of '04, have taken the celebration all the way to Chicago.

Thompson and Morgan are hosting their third annual Green Beer Day celebration on March 7 in Chicago.

The tradition started after the two hosted New Year's parties.

"A buddy and I wanted to throw something more, something original in Chicago," Thompson said. "There is a huge Miami alumni base here, and Green Beer Day seemed to be a good party to throw after New Year's."

Morgan agreed.

"Green Beer Day was one of our favorite things about Miami," he said. "It is a favorite holiday. Everyone looks forward to it year in and year out. We thought it shouldn't be limited to just Miami or Oxford. It is a good reason to enjoy a March Saturday in Chicago."

Thompson said he and Morgan sent invitations via e-mail and Facebook.com and have attendance numbers ranging from 1,000 to 2,500 people. Miami alums come from all over the Midwest to experience this event that strives to hold true to original Miami Green Beer Day traditions.

"It's difficult to get people up at 5:30 a.m.," Morgan said. "We usually go to house parties until the party officially starts at 10 a.m."

While in past years the party has been hosted at the local Cubby Bear bar, the event will be held this year at Joe's Sports Bar in the Lincoln Park Wrigley area, a change after last year's large turnout.

"We had to rent a larger venue this year because last year by 10:30 a.m. we had to start turning people away," Thompson said.

Thompson said he can still recall his favorite Green Beer Day memory.

"When we were all of legal age, we went to the bars Wednesday night until they closed, then we went to a house party the whole day until the bars opened again at five," Thompson said. "It was 18 hours with all the debauchery and skipping class."

Morgan said he has not forgotten the camaraderie he felt on Green Beer Day.

"My last year at Miami was a favorite memory," Morgan said. "With the approaching last college days, we were all really appreciating our friends and how fun the traditions of Green Beer Day were together."

Thompson and Morgan said they are looking to continue celebrating the tradition of the Green Beer Day in the future as numbers continue to grow.

The pair said they are constantly seeking to get word out for the Chicago event through links on Web sites like greenbeerday.com, and they are pushing the creation of T-shirts with the Miami Alumni Association.

According to Thompson, the event has even gained recognition from fellow alumni living around the country hoping to follow in their footsteps by recreating the holiday in cities like Washington, D.C. and Atlanta.