Popular free summer festival celebrating Polish culture and heritage returns to Chesterfield

Pol-Fest, a fun day celebrating polish heritage and culture, is set to take place at Chesterfield Panthers Rugby Union Football Club on Sunday, July 19.

The event is organised by Polonia Chesterfield, a local Polish community group based in Chesterfield.

Piotr Danek, Polonia Chesterfield, chairman said: "Pol-fest is an a opportunity to share our culture and heritage with our friends, neighbours, work colleagues and people who we pass by on the street or in the shop.

"We are a part of the local community here in Chesterfield and in Derbyshire and we are the same people as anyone else but with a bit different heritage.

"We organise the festival both to help Polish people come together and to show our culture and heritage to people outside the Polish community in an attractive and welcoming way – through food, music and activities.”

The event has a wide range of activities on offer including traditional polish food, live music, magic shows, airsoft and more.

There are many fun attractions for the little ones too such as bouncy castle, magic tricks workshop and face painting, as well as group games and sports activities.

Representatives of emergency services will also run stalls at the event – including Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, Derbyshire police and the NHS.

Piotr added: “While planning the festival, we wanted to make sure there’s something for all age groups – young children, teenagers, families, youths and and adults.

"It is important for us that everyone feels welcome at Pol-fest.”

Piotr said that Polish food is always one of the most prised attractions at the festival with traditional polish cakes, barbecue dishes and traditional stew bigos gaining popularity among all visitors.

He explained: “Everyone who has a chance to try traditional polish food is amazed with the flavours.

"We find that people are very curious about trying different food and they really enjoy it.

"In previous years our traditional dishes that got most compliments included the famous Polish cheesecake as well as barbecue dishes such as karkówka (neck collar) and sausages.

"We also try to go beyond the convections a bit and have hot dogs, candy floss, popcorn for everyone to enjoy – and vegetarian dishes such as lecho.”

While Polish cuisine is an important part of Pol-fest, live music is also at the heart of the festival.

Piotr said: “Food and music are excellent ways to break barriers between people and cultures, they let you host someone and make them feel welcomed.

"We are very lucky that we have people in our community who have music talent and experience playing live, who are happy to perform at Pol-fest.

"At the festival we focus on Polish songs and we see many Poles humming and singing along, but English people are also joining in, having fun, enjoying the high quality music and festival vibes.

"Music truly helps to bring people together.”

This year’s Pol-fest is the fourth edition of the popular free festival, which attracted around 700 people to Chesterfield Panthers Rugby Union Football Club last year – with some coming from as far Nottingham or Leeds.

Speaking about how the event grew over the years, Piotr said: “It’s been a pleasant surprise for us to see how popular Pol-fest has become.

"It started as a much smaller-scale event in 2023 and every year it grows.

“We see familiar and new faces every year with many people who come along later telling their their families and friends about Pol-fest.

"We were really surprised to find out that we don’t only have visitors from Chesterfield, but also Sheffield, Nottingham, Leeds and Derby.

"It’s fantastic that people want to travel so far to come along to our festival and spend some time with our local community.

"It shows that we have managed to create a lovely atmosphere, which encourages people to visit Chesterfield and enjoy their Sunday surrounded by green scenery and lovely people.

"It’s the second time we will host Pol-fest at the rugby club and we are very thankful that Panthers are letting us use their grounds so we have a bigger space to host more guests."

With the festival growing, more volunteers are needed to ensure it can run smoothly – but Polonia Chesterfield cannot complain about the lack of interest with around 40 volunteers offering their help this year.

Piotr added: “Our volunteers have been preparing for weeks, they have been planning activities and they will be working hard from 9am on the day to ensure all is ready for 12 noon.

"They will be serving food, talking to people and cleaning up after.

"It’s great to see that in current day and age when we are all very busy and have a lot of obligations, people still want to go out of their way to do something good for their local communities.

"Our volunteers often say that they feel like they are a part of community, which helps them feel more appreciated and needed.

“It’s really lovely to see we can help build communities like this.”

Pol-fest 2026 is set to run from 12 noon until 4pm on Sunday, July 19, with everyone invited to come along, no matter the age or nationality.

Piotr said: “I would encourage everyone to come along.

"Pol-fest is a place where small children, youths and adults can all come together and enjoy various activities.

"It’s an opportunity for Polish people to come together and meet with fellow Poles and it’s a chance for everyone who lives locally to find out more about the culture and heritage of their Polish neighbours and work colleagues who are a part of the Chesterfield community.

"And above all Pol-fest is just a lovely way to spend a summer Sunday afternoon outdoors, enjoying good food, live music and free activities.

"Everyone is welcome at Pol-fest.”