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Pétanque in Chicago and the Midwest
The largest pétanque club in the country by membership was not in a city. It was in a village in rural Ohio, and the region’s two best stories are both small-town ones.
The largest pétanque club in the United States by membership was not in a city at all, but in a village in rural Ohio.
The Midwest’s two best stories are both small-town ones, and neither is in Chicago.
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Six clubs
The clubs
Two are FPUSA members and four are independent, which affects sanctioned tournament entry and nothing else.
| Club | Where | Status | Courts | When and where they play |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zanesfield Pétanque Club | Zanesfield, OH | FPUSA | Two courts | Organized summer 2010, and by 2015 the largest FPUSA club in the country by membership |
| Lincoln Park Pétanque Club | Chicago, IL | FPUSA | Public path | Just north of the Diversey Driving Range entrance, 141 West Diversey Parkway. Wednesday and Saturday, 11am to 1pm, May to October |
| Joël’s Pétanque Club | Eau Claire, WI | Independent | Four courts | Wilson Park Sundays at 2pm and River Prairie Park Wednesdays at 5:30pm |
| Chicago Pétanque Club | Wheaton, IL | Independent | Varies | Started by Dan Danielson and active since 2006, playing across Chicago, Wheaton and Forest Park |
| Pétanque Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI | Independent | Public courts | Burns Park, 1300 Baldwin Ave, Sundays at 1pm in spring and summer |
| Minneapolis Pétanque Club | Minneapolis, MN | Independent | Beltrami Park | Schedule runs through its Facebook page. Current activity not confirmed |
Lincoln Park and Chicago Pétanque Club are separate organizations and are often confused. Our club directory lists both.
153 members
Zanesfield, Ohio
A village club in Logan County was, by the federation’s own count, the largest pétanque club in the country.
The number
In the federation’s 2015 membership figures, Zanesfield Pétanque Club had 153 members, against 101 for Los Angeles and 93 for Portland.
Zanesfield sits northwest of Columbus and is a village. No other rural club in the country comes close to that figure.
How it happened
The club organized in the summer of 2010 around a single small court, paid for through donations from local businesses and individuals.
Participation grew fast enough that they outgrew it, and a second larger court went in during 2012, which let them host tournaments.
What it is now
A nonprofit under the federation, at 4595 County Road 153. It offers free lessons for beginners and keeps boules for anyone visiting.
It has hosted Marco Foyot. Its own description of its priorities is playing pétanque, building a community and bringing in people of all ages and backgrounds.
A memorial
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Four regulation courts in a Wisconsin city park exist because a French mother wanted somewhere to remember her son.
Joël Bittner
Joël Bittner died in January 2011, at forty-nine, of head and neck cancer. Wilson Park was his favorite little park and he had played pétanque there and on long summers in France.
His mother Anne-Marie Bittner, known as Nanou, a French national living in Eau Claire, named the club for him.
How the club formed
She had founded the World Cultural Center in the Chippewa Valley, a monthly group taking a different country each month, and introduced pétanque at its meetings.
A retired university professor, Donald Bredle, found the game there. It caught on, so she started a club, and eight years later members were still meeting twice a week.
The courts
Eau Claire’s first two pétanque terrains opened in Wilson Park with a ribbon-cutting on October 1, 2017. Each holds two playing courts, making four in all.
The club worked with the city to widen the Wilson Park gravel path to regulation. Play runs Sundays at 2pm there and Wednesdays at 5:30pm at River Prairie Park.
The rest of it
Bittner also started Eau Claire’s annual Bastille Day celebration in the same park and brought Le Dîner en Blanc to the city.
Her Facebook description of the club is one line: in memory of my son, Joël Bittner, who died of cancer in 2011.
Two clubs
Chicago
Lincoln Park Pétanque Club
The FPUSA member in the city, playing on the gravel path just north of the Diversey Driving Range entrance at 141 West Diversey Parkway.
Most Wednesday and Saturday mornings, 11am to 1pm, May through October. It describes itself as a diverse multinational community and welcomes all ages and levels.
Chicago Pétanque Club
A separate and older organization, started by Dan Danielson and active since 2006, playing at a rotating set of locations in Chicago, Wheaton and Forest Park.
A related group, DuPage Petanque, plays Sundays at 11am at Northside Park in Wheaton. Neither is on the federation roster.
Elsewhere in Illinois
Dunham Woods Pétanque Club plays on a terrain at a private riding club in Wayne, and a Bloomington-Normal club started around August 2016.
Between them, Illinois has more pétanque than any other Midwest state, though none of it at scale.
Since 1978
Michigan
Ann Arbor
Pétanque Ann Arbor plays Sundays at 1pm in spring and summer at Burns Park, 1300 Baldwin Ave, and also on the Eastern Michigan University campus.
The public courts exist because a couple who took up the game on visits to France built their own, then offered to pay for a public facility. A public meeting on the plan was held in November 2008, and the courts opened in August 2009.
Older than that
A club in Royal Oak has been running since 1978, and a Detroit club played at Campus Martius Park from 2005, drawing members from Windsor in Ontario.
The Royal Oak club was the Michigan Pétanque Club, became the Royal Oak Pétanque Club in 2011, then the Motor City Pétanque Club in 2016.
An honest map
Where there is nothing
Midwest pétanque is not in the places you would expect, and the gaps are worth stating.
The big metros
Cleveland, Columbus and Indianapolis have no clubs on record. Ohio’s activity sits in Zanesfield, Toledo, Newark, Bellefontaine and Lakeview instead.
Cincinnati has no club either, but the Alliance Française de Cincinnati runs free summer sessions across the river at Pompilio’s restaurant, 600 Washington Avenue in Newport, Kentucky. Adults and children are welcome, rain or shine, and the most recent session was on August 16, 2026.
Kansas City has no club, only occasional informal games. Milwaukee’s club is listed as defunct.
Clubs that folded
A St Louis club appeared in 2014 and disappeared around 2019. A group in Sedalia, Missouri started in September 2019 and never took hold.
Our club directory carries the full national listing, and the public courts page covers free terrain.
Common questions
Questions about pétanque in the Midwest
Which is the biggest club in the Midwest?
Zanesfield Pétanque Club in rural Logan County, Ohio. The federation’s 2015 membership count gave it 153 members, the largest of any FPUSA club in the country.
For comparison, Los Angeles had 101 and Portland 93. Zanesfield is a village.
How did Zanesfield get so large?
It organized in the summer of 2010 with one small court, financed through donations from local businesses and individuals. Participation outgrew it within two years.
A second, larger court went in during 2012, which let the club host tournaments. It has since hosted Marco Foyot.
Where can I play in Chicago?
Lincoln Park Pétanque Club, on the gravel path just north of the Diversey Driving Range entrance at 141 West Diversey Parkway.
Play runs most Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 11am to 1pm, May through October, weather permitting.
Is there more than one Chicago club?
Yes, and they are separate organizations. Lincoln Park Pétanque Club is the FPUSA member in the city.
Chicago Pétanque Club, started by Dan Danielson and active since 2006, plays around Chicago, Wheaton and Forest Park, and a related group called DuPage Petanque plays Sundays at 11am at Northside Park in Wheaton.
What is Joël's Pétanque Club?
A club in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, named for Joël Bittner, who died in 2011 at forty-nine. His mother Anne-Marie Bittner, a French national living in the city, founded it in his memory.
Wilson Park was his favorite little park, and he had played pétanque there and in France.
How did Eau Claire get courts?
Bittner introduced the game at meetings of the World Cultural Center, a monthly group she founded that focuses on a different country each month. It caught on, so she started a club.
The city’s first two pétanque terrains opened in Wilson Park with a ribbon-cutting on October 1, 2017. Each terrain holds two courts, so four in total.
Where can I play in Michigan?
Pétanque Ann Arbor plays Sundays at 1pm in spring and summer at Burns Park, 1300 Baldwin Ave, on public courts.
The courts exist because a couple who had taken up the game on visits to France built their own, then offered to pay for a public facility. A public meeting on the plan was held in November 2008, and the courts opened in August 2009.
How far back does Michigan pétanque go?
Further than Ann Arbor. A Royal Oak club has been running since 1978, and a Detroit club played at Campus Martius Park from 2005, with members driving in from Windsor in Ontario.
The Royal Oak club has changed names twice and is now the Motor City Pétanque Club.
Are there clubs in St Louis, Kansas City or Indianapolis?
No. A St Louis club appeared in 2014 and disappeared around 2019, a Sedalia group started in 2019 and did not take hold, Kansas City has only occasional informal games and Indianapolis has nothing on record.
Milwaukee is listed as defunct. Midwest pétanque is concentrated in places smaller than its big metros.
Elsewhere in the US
Other American regions
Ohio and Illinois sit in the FPUSA Mid-America Region alongside the Carolinas and Virginia.
Playing in the Midwest and not listed?
Several Midwest groups run entirely on Facebook and reach no roster. Send the details.
Pétanque, once a month
Club spotlights, new court listings, equipment notes and events across the US, Canada and Mexico.
Free. One click to leave.
Overview
- Clubs: six across five states
- FPUSA members: two
- Largest club: Zanesfield, 153 members in 2015
- Chicago: Lincoln Park, Wednesday and Saturday
- Eau Claire: four courts, opened 2017
- Oldest: Royal Oak, Michigan, since 1978
- Big metros with no club: Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Kansas City
- Season: May to October in most of the region
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