Polish Fest is an annual ethnic festival held at the Henry Maier Festival Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was established in 1982. One of the largest Polish festivals in the United States, it attracts Polish Americans from all over Wisconsin and nearby Chicago, who come to celebrate Polish culture through music, food and entertainment. [1]
The event, along with Summerfest and many ethnic and cultural festivals held throughout the city, give Milwaukee the nickname "City of Festivals."
By 1905, Polish Milwaukeeans were the community's second-largest ethnic group, second only to the Germans. [2] 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. [3]
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. [4]
Since no Polish Fest was held in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, 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. [5]
Wisconsin is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north.
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 central business district. Summerfest attracts approximately 800,000 people each year, promoting itself as "The World's Largest Music Festival", a title certified by Guinness World Records in 1999, but has been surpassed in attendance by Donauinselfest with over three million in 2015. While Summerfest has one of the highest aggregate attendances in the world, the daily attendance of Summerfest is lower than other major American music festivals. In 2022, the daily attendance of Summerfest was 49,500.
Milwaukee is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is the 31st most populous city in the United States, the fifth-largest city in the Midwest, and the largest city in the state of Wisconsin.
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, according to the 2021 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Polish Americans are the second-largest Central European ethnic group after German Americans, and the eighth largest ethnic group overall in the United States.
Li Yundi, also known mononymously as Yundi, is a Chinese pianist. He is best known for being the youngest pianist, at the age of eighteen, to win first prize at the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2000. In 2015, he also served as the competition’s youngest-ever juror.
The International Chopin Piano Competition, often referred to as the Chopin Competition, is a piano competition held in Warsaw, Poland. It was initiated in 1927 and has been held every five years since 1955. It is one of the few competitions devoted entirely to the works of a single composer, in this case, Frédéric Chopin. The competition is currently organized by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute.
Milwaukee Irish Fest is a yearly Irish-American festival held at the Henry Maier Festival Park, on Lake Michigan, United States, every third weekend in August. Over 130,000 people attend the Fest each year to watch nearly 250 acts on 17 stages. The four-day festival started in 1981, founded by Edward J. Ward. Irish Fest is the largest of the ethnic festivals held at the Summerfest grounds which report attendance, and holds claim to the largest celebration of Irish Culture in the world.
Croatian Canadians are Canadian citizens who are of Croatian descent. The community exists in major cities including the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Windsor, Montreal and Waterloo Region.
German Fest is an ethnic festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US at the Henry Maier Festival Park, on the Lake Michigan lakefront. The genesis of German Fest occurred when Mayor Henry Maier challenged the local German-American community during a speech on May 20, 1980, at the 20th anniversary of the German American National Congress (DANK) to organize a German festival. Shortly thereafter, Walter Geissler, then President of D.A.N.K., chaired a committee of five members that laid the foundation for the Fest. The charter of German Fest was subsequently written in January 1981. The first German Fest was held in August 1981. It is billed as the "Largest German celebration in North America" and "A Milwaukee Tradition". It currently occurs during the last full weekend in July. As of 1993, 52% of Milwaukee's population claimed German descent, which is the largest European percentage in a major U.S. metropolitan area.
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.
River Rhythms is a free outdoor music concert series held annually at Pere Marquette Park along the Milwaukee River in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It takes place Wednesday evenings from June through September and showcases a wide variety of music entertainment.
South Shore Water Frolics was a free three-day summer festival held annually at South Shore Park in the Bay View neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It featured a parade, live music, and fireworks at the lakefront.
The neighborhoods of Milwaukee include a number of areas in southeastern Wisconsin within the state's largest city at nearly 600,000 residents.
A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality, locality of musicians, or holiday. Music festivals are generally organized by individuals or organizations within networks of music production, typically music scenes, the music industries, or institutions of music education.
Music tourism is the act of visiting a city or town, to see a music festival or other music performances. This sort of tourism is particularly important to small villages such as Glastonbury, as well as large cities like Glasgow.
PrideFest is an annual gay pride event held at the Henry Maier Festival Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the second weekend of June.
The Wisconsin Cream City Chorus was founded on April 1, 1987, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Originally formed as a chorus of gays, lesbians and their friends, the chorus now strives to celebrate the rich diversity of the community at large — not just the LGBT community — through the performance of quality choral music. People of all orientations, races and faiths are welcome to join and participate.
Henry Kramer is an American pianist.
Elizabeth "Bo" Black was an American model and businesswoman who was the festival director of Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Downtown Milwaukee is the central business district of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The economic and symbolic center of the city and the Milwaukee metropolitan area, it is Milwaukee's oldest district and home to many of region's cultural, financial educational and historical landmarks including Milwaukee City Hall, Fiserv Forum and the Milwaukee Art Museum. The city's modern history began in Downtown Milwaukee in 1795 when fur trader Jacques Vieau (1757–1852) built a post along a bluff on the east side, overlooking the Milwaukee and Menomonee rivers.