Chicago Tafia

The Chicago Tafia Welsh Society (also known as the Chicago Tafia) is an expatriate Welsh group formed in Chicago, Illinois, USA, in 1999. As one of the youngest and most contemporary Welsh groups in North America, the society strives to provide a link between the present culture of Wales and the Chicago area.

Members of the Chicago Tafia outside the ABC7 studios on State Street, Chicago: St. David's Day 2011

Activities

The group’s activities include organizing social gatherings to watch Welsh sporting events and musicians, and celebrating events such as St. David's Day. Over the years they have been involved with over a dozen concerts for Welsh male voice choirs in the Chicago area, including the Pendyrus, Penrhyn, Bangor, Black Mountain, Burlington, Hogia'r Ddwylan and CF1 choirs at prominent Chicago venues.

In 2007 the group attracted the former lead singer of Catatonia, Cerys Matthews to entertain them at their annual St. David’s Day party. In the same year, they successfully lobbied the Illinois General Assembly into signing into law Bill HR0149, which proclaimed March 1, in 2007 and each year thereafter, as St. David's Day in the State of Illinois, in recognition of the Welsh contribution to the state.[1]

From 2009 to 2019 the Chicago Tafia partnered with the owners of the iconic Wrigley Building to illuminate the tower red, white, and green (the colours of the Welsh flag) on March 1, St. Davids Day.[2]

In 2014 members of the Chicago Tafia started the Chicago Swansea City Supporters Club, that meets for games at Chicago area pubs.

In April 2019, following the vandalism of the Cofiwch Dryweryn mural in Llanrhystud, Wales, the Chicago Tafia partnered with the Pleasant House pub to create a tribute mural in Chicago.

Chicago Tafia brick in Cardiff, Illinois
gollark: It seems like I'm going back to in-person school next week, annoyingly.
gollark: I think the main thing is that, in the past, if some horrible virus wiped out a big chunk of human civilization, it would not spread anywhere else because they then died.
gollark: I didn't say there was one.
gollark: Who says there isn't one?
gollark: The obvious solution is mind control, but distributed in a way conspiracists are likely to take (not vaccines).

References
  1. Text of Illinois House Resolution HR0149
  2. UK in the USA: Chicago marks St. David's Day with Welsh colors atop iconic Wrigley Building Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine

Newspaper, Magazine & Web articles about the Chicago Tafia

See also
  • Welsh History in Chicago
  • Welsh American
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