Wawel Folk Ensemble

On Wednesday, July 28, 2016, members of the Wawel Folk Ensemble participated in the first Polish American Heritage Night at Jimmy John's Field in Utica, Michigan.  Jimmy John's Field is home to the United Shore Professional Baseball League.  Wednesday's game featured the Utica Unicorns taking on the Eastside Diamond Hoppers.

As part of the pre-game festivities Big Daddy Lackowski and the La Dee Das performed polka hits and children from numerous PRCUA dance schools (Gwiazda, Halka, Opole, Polskie Maki and Zajączek performed on the field.  Members of the Wawel Folk Ensemble then acted as an honor guard for the Polish flag during the singing of the Polish National Anthem.

Between the first and second innings, the Wawel Folk Ensemble took to the field and performed its Saxernet Polka.  After the third inning, the PRCUA Zakopane dancers took to the field and performed their polka.

For snacking during the game, the event featured (in addition to the regular ballpark favorites) Polish food and a selection of Polish beers.

The event was sponsored by the American Polish Century Club of Sterling Heights, The Polish American Century Club of Utica and the Polish American Century Club of Detroit.

On Friday, July 8, 2016, members of the Wawel Folk Ensemble performed at the American Polish Century Club's 36th Annual American-Polish Festival in Sterling Heights, Michigan.  Wawel was part of the event's opening festivities and despite high humidity and temperatures in the 90s, turned out a high energy performance.  Wawel's performance included a suite of dances from Rzeszow, dances from old Warsaw, the Krakowiak and a suite of dances from Sieradz.

Wawel was also very honored to have one of its members, Cheryl Lewis, selected as the Festival's 2016 Queen.  Cheryl spent the weekend reigning over the Festival.

With summer festival season upon us, please continue to check this blog and Wawel's Facebook page for updated performance and appearance information.