Throughout the week, attendees can enjoy 16 unique events, including concerts, film screenings, exhibitions, lectures, and family-friendly activities that showcase the richness and diversity of Czech heritage. This weeklong program not only honors the deep historical roots of the Czech-American community in the greater Chicago area—a city that, just a century ago, was home to one of the world’s largest Czech populations—but also seeks to engage a broad and diverse audience. 

The festivities will kick off with the beloved 86th Moravian Days festival, a long-standing celebration of folk culture organized by United Moravian Societies. A special highlight of this year’s program is a concert Ode to Prague and Chicago, commemorating 35 years of partnership between sister cities of Prague and Chicago—a bond that continues to strengthen cultural exchange and mutual respect. The week will symbolically conclude on September 28, which marks Czech Statehood Day (Den české státnosti) and honors St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of the Czech lands—a powerful moment to reflect on the enduring legacy of Czech culture both at home and abroad. 

As part of the celebration, the rich Czech tradition will be honored with a special Czech Heritage Week menu at Café Prague, where guests can enjoy authentic Czech dishes at a 10% discount, along with Pilsner Urquell beer on tap for just $5.

Czech Heritage Week is more than a celebration for Czech community and their descendants. It is an open invitation to all Chicagoans—of all backgrounds—to experience and discover Czech culture, history, and its contributions to the city's vibrant multicultural landscape. Whether you have Czech roots or are simply curious, we welcome you to join us in celebrating a culture that continues to shape and enrich Chicago's identity. 

 

Further information regarding individual events and registration is available here: 

 

Saturday and Sunday September 20-21 

United Moravian Societies 86th Moravian Day 

Švanda Theatre Play Dívenka na trampoline  

 

Monday September 22 

Artist Jan Tichý to Present Talk on In Place of Magic exhibition 

Czech Footprints in the Iditarod Alaska Race 

 

Tuesday September 23 

Czech That Film Festival 

 

Wednesday September 24 

Film Screening Na útěku (On the Run) 

 

Thursday September 25 

Ondřej Macl celebrating European Day of Languages Through Poetry 

Ode to Prague and Chicago

 

Friday September 26 

Šimon Pánek: Human Rights and Europe’s Response to Authoritarianism 

Václav Havel Series - Lecture by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya 

Playing Wolf - Author Reading by Writer Zuzana Říhová 

 

Saturday September 27 

Rock Night with Jarek Filgas with DJ Speedster  

 

Sunday September 28 

St. Wenceslas Sunday Mass   

Autumn Tours of the Tombstones 

Rumplcimprcampr by Theatre Bohemia 

I love my grandma more than young women