Festival Brings Pierogies, Polkas, And Polish Pride To Bucks

DOYLESTOWN, PA — The National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa will host its 59th Annual Polish-American Family Festival and Country Fair for the next two weekends.

The celebration of food, entertainment and fun will take place from noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Aug. 30, 31 and Sept. 1 (Labor Day Weekend) and Sept. 6 and 7 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.

Attracting more than 25,000 visitors a year, the festival is the region’s largest Polish American festival. At the festival, guests enjoy a variety of amusement rides 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.

Homemade pierogies are a popular festival must have. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

A much-anticipated part of the festival is a performance by the Polish American String Band on Sunday, Sept. 7. The music begins at 12:45 p.m. at the Pavilion stage.

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 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.

Admission is $15, which includes free parking, 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.

Amusements and rides are popular with the kids and teens. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

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 festival included a professional art exhibit of Polish artists, which graced the walls of a historic Bucks County barn located on the shrine grounds. In the background, strains of Chopin works could be heard continuously played on an Aeolian grand player piano. Noted helicopter aviation pioneer and National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipient, Mr. Frank Piasecki, graciously donated a helicopter to give rides to excited guests. The lively beat of the Polish-American String Band had many visitors toe tapping and has remained a regular event each year.

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