Honorary Consulate of the Slovak Republic in Chicago

08/30/2026

A post from earlier this year when Richard Rostecky, the Founder and CEO of Touch4IT, visited Chicago. We had a great time attending a Chicago White Sox game at Rate Field and catching up from our last visit. Touch4IT is a strategic technology partner helping businesses deliver Web, mobile, and AI-driven solutions. The company opened its US headquarters in Chicago and is becoming an active member of Chicago’s technology ecosystem. As a Board member of Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, I am especially excited that Touch4IT recently became a member of the Chamber and has become involved in the Chamber’s Technology Council.

08/15/2026

What a pleasure to host Anton Korenči recently in Chicago. Anton is a Slovak theatre director and independent scholar who presented his paper “Beyond Oedipus: Girard’s Scapegoat Mechanism in the Living Maya Ritual Drama Rabinal Achi” at the Annual Meeting of the Colloquium on Violence and Religion (COV&R), which took place in Chicago earlier this summer. The paper connects Anton’s anthropological research with theatre practice and René Girard’s mimetic theory. It also relates to Anton’s staging of Sophocles’s Oedipus at the National Theatre in Košice, Slovakia. We had a most interesting visit introducing Anton to Chicago and learning about his upcoming theatre performances and continuing academic research.

08/08/2026

Thank you to FCSLA Life Anna Hurban District of Chicago for its recent invitation to attend its St. Anne’s Day Mass and luncheon. The First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association is one of the many vibrant Slovak fraternal organizations that bring together members of the Slovak-American community. The Anna Hurban District of Chicago, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, has been a great supporter of the Honorary Consulate of the Slovak Republic in Chicago since the Honorary Consulate was established.

07/04/2026

Happy Independence Day and Happy 250th Anniversary, United States of America!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! 🇺🇸

Today we join the United States in marking the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, 1776.

This historic milestone celebrates 250 years of the United States and the enduring values of freedom and democracy 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

It is also an opportunity to recognize the strong Slovak-American friendship and partnership built on shared values, trust, and cooperation 🇸🇰🇺🇸

Happy 250th Anniversary, America!

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VŠETKO NAJLEPŠIE KU DŇU NEZÁVISLOSTI! 🇺🇸

Dnes sa pripájame k Spojeným štátom a pripomíname si 250. výročie prijatia Deklarácie nezávislosti zo 4. júla 1776.

Tento významný míľnik je oslavou 250 rokov Spojených štátov a trvalých hodnôt slobody a demokracie 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

Je to zároveň príležitosť pripomenúť si silné slovensko-americké priateľstvo a partnerstvo, ktoré stojí na spoločných hodnotách, dôvere a spolupráci 🇸🇰🇺🇸

Všetko najlepšie k 250. výročiu, Amerika!

06/20/2026

It was such a pleasure to meet John Palka for the opening of an exhibition of his photography and his late wife’s paintings at Slovenské veľvyslanectvo v USA / Slovak Embassy in USA while in Washington, DC this week. The photographs and paintings on display bring a new perspective to the beauty of nature. In addition, John is deeply connected with his Slovak heritage, including as expressed in his book My Slovakia, My Family.

05/30/2026

A short video to remember a very special evening at the Chicago History Museum for the Chicago premiere of Better Go Mad in the Wild with Slovak director Miro Remo hosted by the Honorary Consulate of the Slovak Republic in Chicago. Thank you to everyone who joined us and to Aysun Zeynalova Black for the photography and video production!

05/20/2026

Thank you to Our Saviour's Lutheran Church and Lutheran Academy Martin Slovakia for their invitation to a benefit dinner to support the Lutheran Academy and Center for Christian Education in Martin, Slovakia. The relationship between Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Naperville and the Lutheran Academy and Center for Christian Education in Martin began in 1998 and continues to be vibrant today with student exchanges between Naperville and Martin as well as adult group trips and ongoing support to grow and sustain these institutions and their programs in Martin. Thank you for your hospitality and for the opportunity to learn about this inspiring partnership.

05/17/2026

Meeting Slovak entrepreneurs growing Slovak companies is one of the many invigorating aspects of serving as Honorary Consul of the Slovak Republic in Chicago. It was a pleasure to meet Juraj Fehervari, the CEO of and , while he was in Chicago at an event sponsored by the Chicago chapter of . It was fascinating to learn about the barefoot shoe revolution and the growth of Be Lenka and Barebarics in the United States. You can learn more about Be Lenka at https://www.belenka.shop.

05/16/2026

The Veselica Slovak Cultural Organization & Folklore Ensemble, Chicago, USA, including its Veselička Children’s Ensemble, performed recently at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The performance was in the presence of many dignitaries, including the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to the United States, Andrej Droba, the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States, Miloslav Stašek, and former United States Representative John Mica, who commented that it was one of the best performances of Slovak folk dancing he had ever seen. The Honorary Consul of the Slovak Republic in Chicago, Joseph Seliga, who also is a Board member of the Museum, was in attendance and had the opportunity to congratulate the ensemble on its outstanding performance and to express gratitude to the ensemble for its important contributions to promoting, preserving, and celebrating Slovak culture in the Chicago area.

05/04/2026

Thank you to the consular team at the Slovenský generálny konzulát v New Yorku / Slovak Consulate General in NY for their time and tremendous work in Chicago to provide consular services to the members of our community.

The Honorary Consulate of the Slovak Republic in Chicago can provide only very limited consular services, so the Consular Days in Chicago are immensely helpful in fulfilling the needs for consular services.

As you will see in the post below, for the first time consular services were provided at Slovak Catholic Mission In Chicago and Slovak Academy of Chicago in addition to our long standing hosts at CSA Fraternal Life (now BetterLife Insurance), and a tremendous array of services were provided during the time the consular team was in Chicago.

We look forward to the next visit of the consular team!