The Big Fish Ball is an elegant evening aboard the Odyssey Chicago River, offering guests a unique vantage point to experience the river’s transformation firsthand while enjoying a bounty of lovely food and festive beverages.

At a time when Chicago is emerging as a global leader in the movement for swimmable and ecologically healthy urban waterways, we believe the focus should be on celebrating the river in a manner that recognizes it as a natural body of water, and the remarkable environmental recovery it represents.

Cruising the Chicago River under the shimmering lights of the downtown skyline is an exciting way to celebrate achievements, discuss our upcoming goals, and further our mission with shared action and advocacy.

The massive litter cleanup and restoration event also kicks off this year’s litter removal efforts under Friends’ Litter Free Chicago-Calumet River program, which includes more litter cleanup events on land and from the water.

The prestigious award recognizes outstanding participation in the Chicago River Schools Network, Friends’ flagship education program.

Bruch brings more than 30 years of professional expertise in landscape architecture and environmental science, along with a long record of civic leadership.

Designed to both educate and inspire, Friends' Wild River Resolutions connects people to the species living in and along the river while spotlighting simple, everyday actions that support a healthy, biodiverse, and accessible river system for all people, water, and wildlife.

Friends of the Chicago River is deeply honored to be recognized by leaders at the federal, state, and local levels following our win of the 2025 Thiess International River Prize.

Friends’ planning team has launched a next phase of canal research and discovery.