Polish Fest is an annual ethnic festival held at the

Henry Maier Festival Park Henry Maier Festival Park is a 75-acre festival park located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the shore Lake Michigan and is the site of the annual Summerfest musical festival and the home of the American Family Insurance Amphitheater. History Be ...

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, and was established in 1982. One of the largest Polish festivals in the United States, it attracts

Polish Americans Polish Americans () are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of the U.S. population, ...

from all over

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and nearby

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, who come to celebrate

Polish culture The culture of Poland () is the product of its Geography of Poland, geography and distinct historical evolution, which is closely connected to History of Poland, an intricate thousand-year history. Poland has a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic ma ...

through music, food and entertainment. The event, along with

Summerfest Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's Third Ward business district. Summerfest is known ...

and many ethnic and cultural festivals held throughout the city, give Milwaukee the nickname "City of Festivals."

History

By 1905, Polish Milwaukeeans were the community's second-largest ethnic group, second only to the Germans. The community built a permanent center for social and cultural promotion, and the Polish Center of Wisconsin was opened in Franklin, Wisconsin, in August 2000. Since 1999, Polish Fest has featured the Chopin Youth Piano Competition for non-professional pianists in two age divisions: the Junior Division for ages 14 and under and the Senior Division for ages 15 to 18. Since no Polish Fest was held in 2020 caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the 39th was deferred to 2021, before being cancelled a second consecutive year. In 2022, the 39th Polish Fest was held from June 10 to June 12.Polish Fest returns to Milwaukee's Summerfest grounds
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References

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External links

Polish FestPolish Center of WisconsinThe Polish Women's Cultural Club of Milwaukee
Polish-American culture in Milwaukee Festivals in Milwaukee 1982 establishments in Wisconsin Recurring events established in 1982 Henry Maier Festival Park