Croatian Fest – Velika Gospa

I have attended this Feast /​Celebration for many years and it is a very cultural experience not to mention a religious one if you attend the morning services as well. Great for Croations and everyon else too!

I look forward to St Jerome’s Croatian Fest. I have not been in years.
This year the celebration fell on a Monday Night.
Beer Tent — check
Raznici (marinated lamb kabobs) — check
Cevapcici…where the heck was the cevapcici… inset sad face here.
I visited with family and friends… it is a fun type of reunion for me.
There was a band that played a number of songs for people to kolo to.
Everyone seemed to have a good time.
I took the red line this time… no bike.

Croatian fest is awesome!!! Plenty of action and great fun with family and friends !!!

I can’t decide if I like Velika Gospa or Serb Fest better. Not that it’s a competition, but I was thinking about how wonderful it could be if they put aside their differences and had Balkan Fest. It would be the best of both worlds, or even of all the Balkan countries. But that’s just me daydreaming again…
We had a hell of a time getting down to this thing because of the air show going on in downtown on the same weekend. From the NW burbs it took well over an hour and a half, but we found a great parking spot not even a block from St. Jerome’s.
My friend and I didn’t stay long, but in our two hours there we managed to consume (between the three of us) 9 vodka lemonades, 4 pieces of sarma, a portion of cheesy potatoes and two heaping plates of the last bit of lamb. Anyone who tells you that learning a foreign language is useless is poorly mistaken. It gets you lots of extra goodies from sweet cafeteria ladies.
Cons — a bit of a hassle to get to from just about any direction, food and drinks are a bit pricey, souvenirs are even pricier, it isn’t as full out Croatian as I would have liked to see.
Pros — parking becomes available relatively quickly, you get a good amount of food and beverages for what you pay, people are pretty friendly and I can wear an obnoxious checkered soccer top without feeling like a complete tool.
Bijela-​crvenaaaaaaa, moja Hrvatskaaaaa!

Got back from 2 wonderful weeks in Croatia… island hopping along the coast in the Adriatic with some great friends… to enjoy Chicago’s own Velika Gospa courtesy of St. Jerome’s.
2008 was my first Velika Gospa and I had a blast! Danced a few Kolos and polka’d a whole lot, indulged in the Fritule, and defo, DEFO took part in the beer. Last year the 15^th fell on a Friday and I think they grossly underestimated the amount of beer they would need. The food and beer ran out around 8:30.
I think they were a little more prepared this year… and it’s a good thing because the 15^th fell on a Saturday. I arrived around 8 this year (had a Croatian grilling fest at a friends house before hand– cevapi burgers for all… okay, not for this veg head but they looked good… I dug into the Ajvar though). We got there just in time to get the last of the Fritule… thank goodness! But why do the fritule ladies have to be so damn crabby? Think soup Nazi but Fritule Women.
The fest was good, the music was awesome– much better than the year before in my opinion, and the girl fight in between the beer tent and the port-​a-​potties was pretty entertaining.
Another year, another hit! Can’t wait for 8.15.2010! Next year, I’ll totally give 5 stars if i can get a smile from a Fritule woman.

Did you know the Italians in Bridgeport refer to this fest as ‘Moje’ fest? Years ago, the Italians would hear the Croats say ‘my family’, ‘my job’, ‘my car’, ‘my… ego’? Ha! But in all seriousness, the Italians felt they were onto something, always hearing the word ‘moje’ pop up in the Croats’ conversation.
By now, you’ve probably inferred that the word for ‘my’ in Croatian is ‘moje’ (pronounced moy-​eh). On paper though, with a spelling of ‘moje’, the Italians naturally turned to phonetics and affectionately dubbed their Croatian neighbors as ‘mo-​jees’!
So, Croatian Fest is aka Moje Fest aka Velika Gospa. Monday afternoon history lesson: accomplished.
But I digress. Even if you’re not religious (or Croatian for that matter), this fest has something for everyone. Live music. Lamb. Raznici (grilled pork skewers). Fritule (fried dough). Sarma (cabbage rolls). And of course, vodka lemonades for $ 4!
The best part? People watching galore! Having my parents here this year only added to the intoxicating chaos.
Typical conversation snippets between my mom and me:
Mom: Are you hungry? Do you want some more sarma? Let me buy you some fritule! Why aren’t you eating?
Me: I’m not hungry, for the 17^th time!
Mom: That guy keeps looking at you. He is too pretty though, I don’t think he’s good. Let me look to see if he’s wearing a wedding ring though.
Me: Stop. No!
Mom: You should go to church more often, you’ll meet a nice Croatian man.
Me: Uh huh.
Mom: Oh, that guy has such a nice mom! You should like him!
Me: Um, attraction would be nice.
And so it goes. But don’t let the matchmaking Croatian moms deter you from experiencing an unforgettable day! And really, they’re harmless :)
Don’t forget: this fest is always on August 15^th, no matter the day of the week!