National Coquito Festival

A festive fusion of Coquito tastings made with rum. What better way to kick off the Holiday Season than by sipping on Puerto Rico's favorite holiday drink while in good company, enjoying parranda live music and sampling good eats!

NATIONAL COQUITO FESTIVAL

DECEMBER 4, 2021 6PM - 10PM The National Coquito Festival is an annual holiday fundraiser for PRAA. This event will be held, pending CDC in-person gathering guidelines.

Location

Puerto Rican Arts Alliance 3000 N. Elbridge Chicago, IL 60618 The Coquito has a rich tradition in Puerto Rico and is an important part of the holiday season, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. Cherished recipes are unique to each family and those recipes are proudly handed down generation to generation.

Coquito (small coconut) is a rich, creamy coconut-based holiday drink with Puerto Rican origins. It is generally made with coconut milk, coconut cream, sweet condensed milk, rum, cinnamon, vanilla and cloves. The National Coquito Festival, in keeping with the mission of PRAA, was established in 2018 to promote and preserve the heritage of this iconic drink – and to draw people together during the holiday season in order to continue to nurture pride in our culture and traditions.

This celebratory holiday festival features traditional food, music and Parandas – with the main event being a coquito competition to find the best Coquito. Most Puerto Rican families have a treasured coquito recipe and they will boast that their Coquito is the best! This event gives volunteers an opportunity to showcase their family recipe in hopes of winning the contest and having official bragging rights for one entire year.

Last year’s event was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.