Polish Constitution Day Parade (Chicago)

Chicago’s Polish Constitution Day Parade is back this Saturday, May 2, and the practical takeaway is simple — downtown streets around Grant Park will close, and a very old Chicago tradition will take over Columbus Drive for a few hours. This is the 135th edition of the parade, which makes it less like a one-off festival and more like a civic fixture. The event starts at 11:30 a.m. at Balbo Drive and Columbus Drive, then moves north to Monroe Street. If you’re driving through the Loop or South Loop, that’s the part that matters most. ### What exactly is happening? The parade honors Poland’s May 3, 1791 Constitution, and in Chicago it has grown into a major Polish American public celebration with marching groups, floats, music, dance, and community organizations. Choose Chicago calls it the city’s oldest continuously running parade and the largest Polish parade in the world held outside Poland. That helps explain why it gets real city infrastructure around it, not just a permit and some cones. ### When and where is the parade? The parade steps off on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at 11:30 a.m. The starting point is Balbo and Columbus in Grant Park, and the route runs north on Columbus Drive to Monroe Street. Float assembly begins earlier — at 8 a.m. — and disassembly is expected to wrap by about 1:30 p.m., so the disruption window is wider than the parade itself. ### Which streets are affected? The main closures are Balbo Drive from Michigan Avenue to Lake Shore Drive and Columbus Drive from Roosevelt Road to Monroe Street, with impacts expected from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Floats will be staged on Columbus between Balbo and Roosevelt, plus Balbo between Michigan and the lakefront. Basically, if your normal Saturday route cuts across Grant Park east-west or uses Columbus north-south, assume delays and detours. ### How big is this thing? City estimates put attendance at about 10,000 people, with more than 100 floats and vehicles. That’s big enough to change traffic patterns, but it also says something about the event’s role in Chicago’s Polish community. This is not just a symbolic observance tucked into a church hall — it’s a visible downtown parade with enough scale to draw families, civic groups, businesses, and elected officials. ### Is it only the parade? Not really. The parade sits inside a whole Constitution Day weekend. The official schedule included a Polish flag-raising at Daley Plaza on Friday, May 1, plus Saturday food vendors near Balbo and Columbus, a 2 p.m. constitutional concert at the Chopin Garden in Grant Park, and a Saturday evening ### Who’s leading the 2026 parade? The parade committee’s site lists Krzysztof Matyszczyk as Grand Marshal, with Harwood Heights Mayor Arlene Jezierny named as a Friend of