Monday, June 15, 2015
Wawel at Milwaukee Polish Fest 2015
The
weekend of June 12 – 14, 2015 saw the Wawel Folk Ensemble return to a long
standing tradition and perform at Polish Fest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After several years away from the Polish Fest stage and as part of its 50th Anniversary celebrations, Wawel members loaded up their cars and hit the road for Polish Fest. Wawel’s first trip to Polish Fest was in
1998. Six members who traveled for the
2015 addition of Polish Fest also traveled to Polish Fest with Wawel in
1998.
Members of the Ensemble
arrived Friday evening and had an opportunity to walk the Polish Fest grounds
to see what Polish Fest 2015 Polish Fest had to offer. But it was Saturday, June 13, 2015 that was
what really drove the trip.
On
Saturday, Wawel performed on Polish Fest’s cultural stage and presented its
Krakowiak, its Cieszyn and Kaszëbë suites, and its Saxonet polka. After a quick break, Wawel returned to the
Polish Fest Cultural stage to participate in the gala concert of Polish Folk
Dance sponsored by the Polish Folk Dance Association. Wawel presented its Sieradz and Biłgoraj
suites in the gala.
After
the performances, cars were packed full of costumes and the members remained to
take in polka and Polish folk bands and to sample Polish delicacies offered by
the various food vendors. On Sunday
morning, the cars were packed and the dancers began the long drive home to
Detroit – full of memories of Polish Fest 2015 and already making plans for
their return in 2016.
