You never know how things are going to turn out. I went downtown yesterday for the sole purpose of doing some photography in and around the Chicago Art Institute and got sidetracked by the Polish Constitution Day Parade.
The parade, in honor of the Polish Constitution of May 3 1791, is an annual event in Chicago and is the largest Polish parade outside of Poland, drawing thousands of people who come to celebrate their national heritage. The sight of all those red and white flags flying in the breeze drew my attention away from the job at hand and I wandered off down Columbus Drive to see what was happening.
There was an added air of excitement in the crowd, the event following so soon after Pope John Paul’s canonization and indeed this seemed to be the theme for this year’s parade.
Almost everyone, spectators and participants, wore red and white, and some were dressed in national costume. Thankfully the weather was in full cooperation and the sun shone nearly all day.
Among those of note who were attending the parade was United States Senator Mark Kirk who returned to work in Washington at the beginning of 2013 after suffering a severe stroke in 2012.
Floats, motorbikes, cars and carriages eventually made their way down Columbus Drive but I took several of these shots as the different organizations assembled earlier in the morning.
Incidentally 
Looks like it was a wonderful celebration. Didn’t realize there was such a big Polish community in the United States. š
Yes Don, there is a large Polish presence in the US and Chicago in particular.
Parades will do that.
It was a happy diversion so everything worked out well.
Reblogged this on Polander.
I love parades, they are such a wonderful way to celebrate. Your pictures capture it nicely.
Thank you! It makes all the difference when the weather is fine and this parade picked the perfect day.
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You may be interested to know that this may have been not only the largest Polish parade outside of Poland, but the largest Polish parade in general. Parades are not that popular in Poland anymore as they were used as a tool for propaganda when Poland was a communist state. It’s really unfortunate, as they seem to be very cheerful events!
Everyone certainly appeared to be having a good time.