Pierogies And Polkas: Polish-American Festival Opening In New Britain

NEW BRITAIN TOWNSHIP, PA — If you're Polish or if you just enjoy Polish culture and food, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa is the place to be for the next two weekends.

The 56TH Annual Polish-American Family Festival and Country Fair takes places from noon to 8 p.m. on Sept. 3, 4 and 5 (Labor Day Weekend) and Sept. 10 and 11 at 654 Ferry Road, Doylestown 18901.

The public is invited to celebrate traditional Polish culture with live entertainment, arts and crafts, re-enactments, ethnic foods, midway rides and more.

The festival is the region’s largest Polish American festival attracting more than 25,000 visitors a year. At the festival, guests will enjoy a variety of amusement rides, the exciting “Little Circus” show, and continuous live entertainment on two outdoor stages.

The festival showcases award-winning polka and disco polo bands as well as Polish folk dance groups from across the United States and Canada.

A much-anticipated part of the festival is the performance of the Polish American String Band in their Mummers costumes on the second Sunday of the festival.

Visitors to the festival will also witness demonstrations by historical re-enactors of the 17th century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (known as the Banner of Jasna Gora) and the World War II Living History group, daily shows of Polish traditions, and a crafters’ village.

One of the most delicious ways to enjoy Polish culture is to sample the wide variety of Polish cuisine available for purchase. The mouth-watering festival menu includes smoked and grilled kielbasa, pierogi, potato pancakes (placki), stuffed cabbage rolls (gołąbki), pastries, and Polish beer.

Festival favorites such as funnel cake, hot dogs, chicken fingers, and water ice are also available. Also featured at the festival will be a Polish Vodka Tasting experience.

Admission is $12 admission, which includes unlimited entrance to midway rides all day long (extreme rides at additional cost), stage shows and special events.

For more information and complete schedules, visit www.polishamericanfestival.org.

The ‘original’ festival was a simple picnic that was held by volunteers, their families and friends during the year of the Shrine’s dedication. As a good time had by all at this event, it inspired its continuation and expansion for the following year.

The festival was the brainchild of Dr. Raymond Chase and his wife, Virginia along with Father Michael Zembruski, the founder of the Shrine. Their idea was to create an ethnic celebration combined with an old-fashioned country fair.

Back then, events of this type were not the norm, so despite the hard work of many volunteers, questions remained as to its success. Doubts were quickly allayed when thousands of people arrived to join in the festivities at this relatively unknown shrine. Pennsylvania State Police
had to be called in to handle the miles-long traffic jams. Brother (now Father) Edward Volz, who was responsible for food service, could hardly keep up with the overwhelming demand for kielbasa sandwiches. No hot dogs were served.

The original festival was simply called the Annual Festival and Country Fair. But in the second year, it was renamed the Polish Festival and Country Fair, and was moved to the upper grounds where the new Shrine basilica had been built. To better accommodate the ever-increasing
number of visitors, several years later the festival dates were expanded to include a second weekend. Still later, the name was shortened to simply the Polish-American Festival. To call attention to its Polish American origin and to emphasis the family nature of the festival, in
2010 we have again renamed it, now calling it the Polish American Family Festival and Country Fair.

One of our most notable visitors over the years was President Ronald Reagan, who enjoyed a Placki (Potato Pancakes) on the festival grounds.