AUTHOR’S NOTE: The festival’s name became the Northwest Ohio Polish American Festival in 2020.
This post documents my experience on May 18, 2019.
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This weekend, I took my kids to the Toledo Polish American Festival…
…where we first walked down a pathway lined with vendors offering special deals…
…the potential Plinko-styled game (Julie Spann Johnson/State Farm)…
…and a slew of Polish gift shopping opportunities, including T-shirts (Polish Shirt Store)…
…jerseys, flags (Martin Przybylski)…
…wood carvings with the Polish eagle (Routerville USA)…
… pottery, earrings (3 Wise Busia’s)…
…and plenty more (Gifts from Europe).
While I felt the distant Polka music drawing me in…
…the kids suddenly delayed our progress, thanks to pony ride possibilities…
…and a large inflatable area.
Eventually, we made it to the food court area…
…where there were tropical drinks…
…funnel cakes served alongside egg rolls…
…and Polish food options that included Kielbasa sandwiches on fresh baked rye buns (Stanley’s Market)…
…handmade pierogi and Polish sausage from the Chicago area (Tata’s Pierogi)…
…some Italian “pierogi” (aka ravioli) with kielbasa and hot busia bread (The Rolling Chef)…
…and even some special strawberry pierogi with sweet cream (Babcia’s Lunchbox)…
…which made for a rather interesting dish.
And, speaking of interesting dishes, if I had been a little more observant, I would have also stopped at the Brandywine Country Club‘s booth…
…for a bowl of duck blood soup or czerina since I’ve never had it before (photo from the Toledo Polish American Festival’s Facebook page).
But most likely, I was distracted by the Polish coffee cake booth and its free samples for the kids to try (Resurrection PNC Church)…
…by the beautifully made quilt that was raffled off…
…and especially by the vibrant music coming from the tent…
…where people grabbed a table…
…perhaps with a one of two Polish beers brewed particularly for the festival (Patron Saints Brewery)…
…and Polka’d to such glorious melodies…
…as the Beer Barrel Polka (Duane Malinowski Orchestra).