Extreme heat and waves of thunderstorms didn’t stop close to 3,000 people from eating pierogis, dancing to Polka bands and learning about Polish culture this weekend.
Families and friends of different cultures from around the Capital District gathered at the Blessed Virgin Mary of Czestochowa Polish National Catholic Church on Old Maxwell Road in Latham for the 11th annual PolishFest Friday, May 31, through Sunday, June 2.
The church has about 100 families in its congregation, but Regina Pollack, one of the festival coordinators, said she knows there are many people in the community with Polish heritage. Sharing the Polish culture with the entire community has been a lasting mission for the festival through expansions and changes.
“I think it’s important for cultures of every kind to experience what we have to offer one another. We’re pleased to provide a venue to do that,” Pollack said. “We saw a lot of the community here. A good mix of people.”
The three-day event featured art, craft vendors, music, imported beer and Polish food inside and outside on the grounds of the church.
Although there were several hours left of the festival, by early Sunday afternoon the popular event was almost completely out of food.
“We have run out of just about everything except pierogis and golabki,” said Zosia Dross, one of the festival’s volunteers. “If we thought we were going to sell out of these things we would’ve made a lot more.”
Dross has been a member of the church for 25 years and attends the festival each year, but said this is one of the first events at which the food almost sold out before it was over. She said oftentimes the weather is the main factor in the festival’s turnout and food consumption, and with the more than 90-degree heat and scattered storms, she was surprised the food had sold out so quickly.
Preparing food for the expected crowd takes more than two months, Dross said. Teams of volunteers cooked and baked, freezing some of the food before the festival. This year, the festival featured food including kapusta, a cabbage soup; kielbasa, an Eastern European sausage; and ribbon fries. Several desserts including Polish cheesecake, lemon poppy seed plum cake, apple strudel and crepes were popular favorites as well.
Polish pizza was an innovative creation at the festival this year, made with pita bread, mashed potatoes, caramelized onions and sauerkraut with either mushrooms, kielbasa and/or hot dogs.
“They’re really going like crazy,” Dross said.
Joe and Colleen Ferrari, owners of Ferrari’s Italian Restaurant in Schenectady, came to the festival for the first time this year.
“(We came) to help support the church and listen to Polish music. We’re Polish for the day,” Joe Ferrari said. “The food, the music, the company, it’s all great.”
Several vendors the filled inside of the church, displaying different Eastern European goods including woodwork, jewelry, pottery and Polish soccer memorabilia. Oksana Dzyuba, originally from Ukraine, sold different wooden toys and kitchen décor representing Polish attributes. She said many details like bright colors are attributes of Polish culture.
“Very bright and cheerful colors, like how the flag is red and white,” Dzyuba said. “Just the way people are, they’re very cheerful.”
New to the festival this year was beginning Friday night’s opening ceremony with a trumpet player performing “The Trumpeter of Krakow,” a Krakow signal bugle call dating back to the Middle Ages that now plays at noon each day on Polish National Radio. Local officials also joined the opening night for the first time. They including Congressman Paula Tonko, Albany County Executive Dan McCoy, Assemblyman Phil Steck and Town Supervisor Paula Mahan. Each spoke before the crowd about their relationship with Polish heritage.
“We’ve been so fortunate in the Town of Colonie, we have so much diversity. We have the freedom here to interact with everyone, learn about different cultures,” Mahan said. “Although I’m 100 percent Italian, I remember my mother making me golabki and they were really, really good.”
The festival also featured music by Five +1 Band, The Rymanowski Brothers and Donny P & the Celebration. There was also a Chopin piano concert, and performances by the St. Adalbert’s Dancers and the BVMC Little Polish Folk Dancers. There was also an art exhibit inside of the church, containing work by a notable Polish painter, Jan Styka, as well as pieces painted by his daughter, Zofia Styka. The artwork was donated by the family of the late philanthropist and friend of the church, Dr. John A Cetner.
Pollack said as soon as the festival ends, they’ll begin planning for the next. She said come this fall, the church will host a dozynki, or a Polish harvest festival.
As the 11th annual PolishFest came to an end, Pollack couldn’t have been happier with the turnout and the outcome.
“We were very, very pleased,” she said. “It was fantastic.”