Perhaps it's my fault for going on the last day, but Polish Fest, it seems to me that you've really let yourself go. What happened to the days when you had the whole run of the festival grounds? Today, you are a shell of your former self.
Concentrated in just the middle section of the park, even that amount of room seems too much for this festival.
To start with, the "cultural" tents were cramped as if 10 exhibitors were shoved into a tent that holds 6. There should have been more tents to accommodate foot traffic. One tent, which briefly explained the history of Poland and it's people, not only had empty tables in it, but everyone was doing what we did: poked our head in, looked around and moved on. Other than the lady using wax to decorate eggs, there were really no distinctly Polish folk arts being displayed. Wood carving and black smithing are found in multiple cultures...I would have liked to see more on the history of amber jewelry...Where do they get the amber from? How do they decide what makes a good piece of amber to use? How do they cut/shape/smooth the amber into shapes? Ditto on the pottery. The stuff is beautiful and expensive, so explain to me the whos, whats and whys of it. The good? Polish animals on exhibit. Seriously! There were groups showing and touting the merits of a Polish dog, rabbit and chicken breed.
The music was classical or polka, depending on where you went. One band we listened to did perform some well known songs of the '60s, but then went into a mix of their own original and traditional songs. Are there no Polish rock songs/bands? Don't get me wrong, I like both classical and polka music, but isn't there more in the Polish culture?
The shopping wasn't much to speak of: novelty t-shirt vendors, jewelry tables, and a lot of non-Polish items. There WERE actually two vendors for the pottery, which was a surprise, but then there was a booth for Bath Fitter? WTH?
The food was ok, but I wasn't about to try anything new here; I'd rather go to an actual Polish restaurant to do that.
I would go again next year, but I guess I'm going to have to go on a Friday or Saturday. I hope that makes a difference.
81/2015 read more