Pat Bartlett of Sauquoit and Stan Szufnarowski of Lowell,, Massachusetts, polka at the Hiltebrant Recreation Center in Old Forge. Photo by Carol Hansen
A record crowd of Polka lovers were drawn to the George T. Hiltebrant Recreation Center on Saturday and Sunday, May 26 and 27 for the 15th Annual Adirondack Polkafest.
A special addition to this year’s event was a tie-in with the Adirondack Scenic Railroad which provided round trip transportation from Utica Station to Thendara Station aboard the Adirondack Polka Express Limited on Saturday. Included in the trip was onboard entertainment by the award-winning Fritz’s Polka Band and a Polish food luncheon.
Over 60 Polka patrons took advantage of the opportunity, said Donna Pohl of Adirondack Special Events, managing agency of the festival, who added that overall, numbers were up by more that 100 over last year’s event.“Many of these people come back every year. They live and die for dancing the Polka and I was shocked at their stamina.
There were people who danced every dance from 1 p.m. Saturday until 10 p.m. on Sunday. I was amazed,” she said.
The line up of bands included: The Boys, Eddie Forman, Old School with Frank Liszka and Dave Walter, and also Hank Guzevich and the Polka Family.
Polish-American food and beverages were available throughout the two-day festival.
“It was a really happy atmosphere and it was a very successful event,” Pohl said.
The Polkafest was hosted by Polka Promoter, David Sychtysz of Syracuse and managed by Adirondack Special Events (ASE) in partnership with Central Adirondack Association.
