ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

Labor Day Weekend ( Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday )
Aug. 29, 30, 31 & Sept. 1, 2008

This year’s 29th  annual Taste of Polonia festival promises to be bigger and better than ever before !!

Three stages of non-stop music featuring:

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Festival Times

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Admission Donation

Children under 12 free
Adults $ 6
( Sat. & Sun. after 6 pm - $ 7 )
Seniors $ 3
( Sat. & Sun. before 3 pm - free )

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Café Melba
Ice cream creations with a European and Polish flavor. Do you want to see why you always see those Europeans strolling around the Square eating ice cream in the foreign films ? Come and try one of Café Melba’s ice cream delights and you will know.
After a nice Polish dinner come back and enjoy a cup of coffee and a Polish pastry as well.

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Home Bakery
This is one of Chicago’s best festival food vendors. Participating in summer festivals around the city from the South side to Crystal Lake to the Wisconsin border. Home Bakery has all the Polish delights including their famous “ Polish Plate “ which can almost feed the entire family for one low price.
All of the food is grilled right before the customer’s eyes. Pierogi, polish sausage, potatoe pancakes, fried fish – you name it its all good !!

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Kasia's deli:

Kazimiera Bober, better known as Kasia, is living proof of the “American Dream” as she has been defined by the Chicago Tribune and other local newspapers have defined her. She immigrated to the United States from Poland in the nineteen seventies with a dream of a better life for herself and her children. After years of working odd jobs and financial struggles, she decided to pursue something that she felt she was good at, which was cooking. She opened her deli in December of 1982 and began to offer home cooking to the neighborhood customers. She would cook at night and sell her ethnic cuisine during the day. Although the beginnings were difficult, it was through her hard work, perseverance and dedication that Kasia was able to succeed. As her clientele grew, Kasia began to notice that her pierogi were becoming one of the best selling items. After years of showcasing her products at neighborhood festivals, she was asked to participate at ‘The Taste of Chicago’, one of the largest food festivals in the country. It was also at that time the she won the first of four consecutive awards for ‘The Best Pierogi in Chicago.’ With all the acclaim she received, Kasia’s next break was getting her pierogi into some of the largest supermarkets in the Chicagoland area. Kasia’s Pierogi were also the first ever to be served aboard United Airlines, the biggest airline in the world. Dignitaries such as President Bill Clinton, Mayor Richard J. Daley, Governor George Ryan and many others have also sampled Kasia’s award winning pierogi. Kasia, with the help of her children and now grandchildren, is successfully fulfilling her “American Dream”.

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Smakowski’s Deli

This citywide favorite is back for a second year. In addition to Cabbage Rolls and Potatoe Pancakes try their “ Polish sandwich “. Do you like Polish sausage ? How about Polish sausage cooked on a charcoal grill. You can’t get better than that !

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Totu Cafe

Where can you get Polish karaoke and hot morsels of killer Zapiekanki this side of Kracow? ToTu Cafe, of course, which offers karaoke on Tuesdays and DJ sets and live bands on the weekends. Music ranges from retro-'80s and disco to techno and Euro-music mixes via a fun lighting and surround-sound system.
The kitchen is proud of its kebabs, red and white borscht, stews such as Hungarian goulash and beef Stroganoff. You'll also find lots of pork dishes, pierogi filled with sweet and savory ingredients and the Zapiekanki -- a sandwich found in Polish fast-food joints that consists of long, crisp bread topped with mushrooms and cheese, ham and cheese or the works.

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Ralph’s Lemonade

A perrenial favorite at the Taste feature hand squeezed and shaken lemonade.

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El Campeon Restaurant

Never heard of a Polish Taco ?? Well better come and see for yourself. This fine neighborhood restaurant was a big hit at last year’s Taste of Polonia and they promise more great Polish/ Mex food. If Texas can have Tex/Mex why can’t Poland have Pol/Mex ??