Krzysztof Matyszczyk, Chairman of the PSFCU Board of Directors and one of the most recognizable Polish-American business leaders on the East Coast, will lead the parade. And the crown of Parade Queen was won by 21-year-old Justyna Szkaradek — a mathematics student who teaches Polish children and goes on humanitarian missions to Guatemala.
A Tradition Since 1891
The Chicago May 3rd Parade is the oldest and largest Polish-American parade in the United States. Its history dates back to 1891, when Polish immigrants in Humboldt Park — then the heart of Polish Downtown — marched through the city streets for the first time to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the May 3rd Constitution of 1791, the first basic law in Europe and the second in the world after the American constitution. Since then, the parade has been held continuously every spring, with the exception of the pandemic years — it was canceled in 2020 and held virtually in 2021. This year’s 135th edition will set off at 11:30 AM from Buckingham Fountain on Columbus Drive and proceed along Michigan Avenue to the bridge over the Chicago River, attracting — as every year — tens of thousands of spectators.
The motto of this year’s parade is: “Happy Birthday, USA! One spirit, two nations” — a direct reference to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, which falls this year. It is at such moments that the Polish-American parade tradition takes on a dual meaning: it is both a tribute to Polish constitutional heritage and a manifestation of Polish-American identity, which has shaped Chicago’s life for over a hundred years.
Grand Marshal from Greenpoint — and from the PSFCU Board of Directors
Krzysztof Matyszczyk — a figure well-known both in New York’s Greenpoint and among Chicago’s Polish community — has been named the Grand Marshal of the 135th Parade. For years, Matyszczyk has served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union — the largest ethnic credit union in the United States, with assets exceeding $2.5 billion. He is also the founder of Brooklyn-based Fidelity Tax & Insurance Brokerage Corporation and a long-time Polish-American activist, present at parades, galas, and patriotic ceremonies from New York to Illinois.
Although Matyszczyk lives and conducts business in New Jersey and New York, his involvement in the life of Chicago’s Polish community has been evident for years. Jan Kopeć, honorary president of the Polish National Alliance and parade coordinator, emphasized in the media that the new marshal is not only a financial expert but, above all, a man who understands the importance of community institutions in preserving Polish identity overseas. The selection of the PSFCU leader as the marshal of the Chicago parade is a symbolic connection of the two largest Polish-American centers — New York and Chicago — in one patriotic gesture.
21-year-old Queen: Mathematics, Missions, and “God’s Pearls”
The May 3rd Parade Queen selection ceremony took place on March 14th in the elegant Allegra Banquets hall in Schiller Park near Chicago — it was the 27th edition of this event. Eleven candidates competed for the crown, and several hundred guests watched as young Polish women presented themselves before the audience and jury, which included, among others, the president of the Polish National Alliance, Łucja Mirowska-Kopeć, Grand Marshal Krzysztof Matyszczyk himself, and — as a special guest — the Deputy Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Michał Rado. The master of ceremonies was Łukasz Dudka, and last year’s Queen, Olivia Kowalczyk, handed over the crown.
The title of May 3rd Parade Queen 2026 was won by Justyna Szkaradek — a 21-year-old mathematics student at Elmhurst University, a graduate of the St. Faustina Polish Catholic School in Lombard. Justyna works daily as a teacher at the Eye Level Learning Center and tutors Polish children. She is actively involved in the Divine Mercy parish in Lombard, where she leads the children’s choir “Boże Perełki” (God’s Pearls) and the youth group “Przyjaciele Miłosierdzia” (Friends of Mercy). Every year, she goes on medical-humanitarian missions to Guatemala. In addition to the main crown, she also received the Miss Original Talent title — she was awarded for her singing and guitar playing. As she told the media after her selection, she dreams of becoming a high school mathematics teacher and inspiring the young generation of Polish-Americans to actively participate in community life.
The crown of First Lady of the Court — traditionally sponsored by PSFCU — was awarded to Amelia Wiski, an 18-year-old high school student from Oak Lawn, a graduate of Father Ignacy Posadzego Polish School in Burbank. Amelia is a vocal student at Eliza Idec’s Music Studio, a volunteer at the Passion Play and during the Polish-American Pilgrimage. She plans to study speech therapy to help children with speech disorders.
Second Lady of the Court was Isabell Kardasz, a 21-year-old third-year accounting and finance student at DePaul University in Chicago, where she serves as president of the Polish Student Club — organizing events promoting Polish culture and integrating students of Polish descent at the university.
The titles of Miss Audience and Miss Photo were won by Kaia Karkut.
PSFCU: From One Desk in Greenpoint to 24 Branches and an Office in Warsaw
PSFCU’s presence at the May 3rd Parade — both as a sponsor of the First Lady’s crown and through the personal involvement of the Chairman of the Board of Directors as Grand Marshal — is a natural consequence of the role the Union has played in the life of the Polish-American community for almost fifty years. Founded in 1976 at a single desk in an immigrant cafeteria in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint, PSFCU has grown from a local mutual aid fund to a financial institution with assets exceeding $2.5 billion, 24 branches in five states (New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut), and a representative office in Warsaw, opened in May 2024 on Szucha Avenue. The newest branch — in Bolingbrook, Illinois — opened in June 2025.
Under the leadership of Executive Director Bogdan Chmielewski, who has headed the Union since 2006, PSFCU has doubled its assets and expanded its geographic reach far beyond New York. The Union is the main financial sponsor of the Pulaski Parade in New York and the annual Flag Day and Polish-American Day celebrations, and for years has supported hundreds of Polish Saturday schools, cultural organizations, parishes, and veterans’ associations. Since 2007, through its scholarship program, it has awarded over $7 million to more than five thousand young members — the largest program of its kind in the history of Polish-American financial institutions in America. In 2023 alone, PSFCU donated over $3.5 million to social causes.
Schedule of Accompanying Events
The parade is traditionally accompanied by ceremonies spread over several days. On Friday, May 1st, at 12:00 PM at Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago, a Polish flag-raising ceremony will take place — one of the most symbolic events in the Polish-American calendar. On the same day, a solemn mass for the Homeland will be celebrated at St. Hyacinth Basilica. On Saturday, May 2nd at 11:30 AM, the parade itself will begin — marching from Buckingham Fountain on Columbus Drive. In the evening, at 6:30 PM, a Constitutional Banquet is planned at Jolly Inn Banquets on Irving Park Road. The Parade Committee, coordinated by Iwona Wolska, is accepting applications from organizations, schools, and businesses wishing to participate in the procession.
Traditionally, a Historical Art Competition — in cooperation with the Polish National Alliance in the USA — and a competition for the most interesting float and marching group will also be organized. The results of the art competition were announced during the gala on March 14th, and the awards ceremony with a post-competition exhibition took place a week later at the PNA headquarters on Diversey Avenue.
Perspective: Chicago, New York, and America’s 250th Anniversary
This year’s parade is part of the broader context of the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States — the Semiquincentennial, as the jubilee officially called, which America celebrates throughout 2026. The parade’s motto “Happy Birthday, USA! One spirit, two nations” reminds us that Polish-American history is inextricably woven into the history of America itself — from Casimir Pulaski and Tadeusz Kościuszko, through the wave of great immigration, to the contemporary generation that builds bridges between two cultures. Parade Queen Justyna Szkaradek, First Lady Amelia Wiski, or Second Lady Isabell Kardasz — these are the faces of this generation: young women who speak Polish, teach Polish children, are active in Polish parishes and student organizations, and at the same time study at American universities and build careers in America.
For Chicago’s Polish community — one of the largest and most organized Polish communities in the world — the May 3rd Parade is more than an annual folk event. It is a public declaration of belonging, an act of remembrance of a Constitution that was ahead of its time, and proof that institutions such as PSFCU, Polish Saturday schools, or the Polish National Alliance can not only survive but thrive in the American diaspora — and have been doing so for 135 years.
Editorial Staff, Voice of Polonia in the USA
More information about the May 3rd Parade: polishparade.org | Contact the Parade Committee: Iwona Wolska, tel. 773-992-0857, [email protected]
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