Polka Night at The Timbers of Shorewood

Popular accordion and keyboard player Eddie Korosa, Jr., and his polka band will perform at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22, at retirement community, 1100 N. River Road, . The event is free and open the public.

Korosa’s polka band members have been together since 1976 and have played at polka fests in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and many more countries. The group is in high demand in America for any event or venue, including TV and movies. For example, Korosa and his band were John Candy’s polka band, named the “Kenosha Kickers,” in the movie “Home Alone.”

Korosa was voted the Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year in 1996 and Accordion Player of the Year in 1997 by the United Polka Association. He also entertained audiences at Steppenwolf Theatre during the play Evelyn and the Polka King.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Eddie’s father, Eddie Korosa, Sr., wrote and recorded “The Baby Doll Polka” in 1951 — a perennial favorite to this day. Due to his song’s widespread popularity, Eddie Sr. and his band were soon in demand for appearances on polka radio shows.

In 1954, Eddie Sr. built the Baby Doll Polka Club at 73rd and Western in Chicago, where he and his Merry Makers entertained polka enthusiasts for decades. The club’s celebrity allowed Eddie Sr. the privilege to launch the careers of many other bands and musicians.

The Timbers of Shorewood is a rental retirement community. The Timbers provides independent and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay — a weekend, a week, a month or longer.

The public is welcome at this free event. Call Shelly Goggins at 815-609-0669 or visit The Timbers website.