Na Zdrowie! Muskegon Polish Festival draws thousands to downtown

Polka music, pierogies and shouts of “Na Zdrowie!” filled downtown Muskegon this weekend as thousands of people flocked to Hackley Park for the second annual Muskegon Polish Festival.

Held from 12pm to 11pm both Friday, Sept. 1 and Saturday, Sept. 2, the popular event featured two days chock full of live music from groups like the Kielbasa Kings, Tony Blazonczyk’s New Phaze, The Ampol Aires, and others (you can see the entire list here). That Polish Girl Catering, Varsovia Catering, Knights of Columbus Catering by Stevie Tejchma, Ken Sutton, Sandy Dog, and Fricano’s Sweet Shoppe served up plate after plate of everything from homemade kielbasa and golabki to pierogies and czarnina, plus a whole lot more.

To wash down all that food, Frankie’s Piwo Pub (piwo means beer in Polish) and The Bent Pine Pub were pouring Polish imports, domestic brews and handcrafted beers for those who wanted to raise a glass and shout “Na Zdrowie” (“cheers” in Polish).

Below are some of the photos we took on Saturday. If you have any photos you’d like us to feature, send us an email (muskegontimes@gmail.com) and we’ll be happy to add them to this post.

 

Volunteers kept the dance floor hopping throughout the festival.

Tony Blazonczyk’s New Phaze performs.

Festival goers had a variety of goods to peruse, from buttons and shirts to pottery and flower crowns.

Traditional Polish flower crowns.

Muskegon Polish Festival shirts at one of the booths that lined Hackley Park.

The crowd gathers around the bandshell and dance floor.

Tony Blazonczyk’s New Phaze performs.

More from Tony Blazonczyk’s New Phaze.

Dancers enjoy themselves as live music plays.

Pierogies sizzle as many a festival attendee waits to eat one of the most popular, and well-known, Polish foods.

That Polish Girl Catering served kielbasa, golabki, pierogis, and more.

Varsovia Catering had everything from beef cabbage rolls and potato pierogies to sautéed sauerkraut and roasted garlic dill redskin potatoes.

The lineup.

Booths offering a variety of Polish goods line the park.

Dancers from the P.R.C.U.A. Malbork Dance Group, a youth dance organization based in Grand Rapids.

The crowd enjoys a performance from Tony Blazonczyk’s New Phaze.

Dancers landed much applause from those in the crowd.

For more photos, as well as for more information about next year’s event, you can check out the Muskegon Polish Festival on Facebook. And don’t forget to email us at muskegontimes@gmail.com if you’d like us to add your photos!

All photos by Anna Gustafson, the editor of the Muskegon Times. You can connect with her by emailing MuskegonTimes@gmail.com or on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.