Since moving to the midwest, I have learned that Chicago has a large Polish community. I figured this out when I saw a marquee outside of a Walgreens that I only understood to be a language I had never seen before. It's interesting to me, because I've never really been exposed to the Polish culture before. I'm even surprised by how many people I hear speaking Polish regularly, and that I can actually recognize the language and the accent. I suppose this is one of the my favorite parts about having lived in different states... learning about and appreciating what makes us different, but ultimately very much like each other.
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| Maggie D. YouTube Video |
With that said, it was easy to decide that Polish Fest would be my first stop in my "Fest Quest" (yeah, I just came up with that right now). The biggest part of the experience that I was looking forward to was hearing the music and tasting the food! On one side of the park, there was a band that played covers of music by the Black Eyed Peas, Sugarland, and Lifehouse. On the other side, the Polish stage was in full swing. I was there to hear Maggie D. (As great as she was, I'm sad to say that I missed Polish Elvis. THAT would have been awesome!!) The singer had a great stage presence, and although I couldn't understand a word, I enjoyed the music and watching people dance and sing along.
Next up? The food. Of course, I had to try everything. What you can't see in the bottom right hand corner of the menu is: "All orders include applesauce and sour cream." After seeing the menu, and reading this little excerpt, I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to be doing with the applesauce and sour cream, so I ended up trying a bite of everything with the applesauce and/or sour cream and then without. It's not exactly ketchup (or if you're me... ranch dressing), but I'm not scared. The food was delicious! I had the best time experiencing the culture and enjoying the atmosphere, although I was pretty bummed to miss seeing the Pierogi eating contest. Those things are so filling, it's hard to imagine that the winning number would have been very high. :) Anyway, I can't wait until the next festival. Enjoy the pics, and just try not to get hungry just looking at them!
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| I missed out on the Shish Kabobs this time! |
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| These ladies were so fast. |
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Polish Sausage, Rye Bread, & Sauerkraut, Cheese Blintz (with apple sauce and sour cream), Pierogi (one Sauerkraut, one Potato, & one Meat), Stuffed Cabbage, Potato Pancake, more Sausage & Sauerkraut and yes, more applesauce and sourcream. |
