Saturday, November 13, 2010 started out cloudy and cold but by the time the Brazos Valley Worldfest began there was a beautiful blue sky in College Station, Texas. The north wind continued to blow pretty hard for most of the day, but the sunshine warmed things up as thousands of people entered the 20 acre Wolf Pen Creek Park for the international heritage celebration. The festival featured cultural displays, demonstrations, international cuisine, performances, children’s crafts, educational competitions and many other activities.
Our Polish Texan culture was well represented at the Worldfest. Brian Marshall and the Texas Slavic Playboys with Ronnie Dutka, Harlan Kubos and Brian’s son Jakub entertained the crowd with old time Polish music at the Community Stage in the morning.
The Polish Genealogical Society of Texas had a beautifully decorated cultural display booth in the Global Village. The highlight of the day for the PGST group was when they were awarded the third place trophy for their display which was a great acomplishment considering that there were over 100 booths. A group of talented musicians including Brian Marshall, Michal Marshall, Jakub Marshall, Ronnie Dutka, Dr. Jim Mazurkiewicz, James Mazurkiewicz and Mark Hopcus played Polish music in front of the PGST booth for most of the long day.
Below are a few photos of the fun and there is a slideshow of more photos on page 2. There are a few music videos in the Polish Texans Video section or you can see more videos on our YouTube Channel.
James Smock has always held an interest in his Polish ancestors and heritage. He is a native Houstonian with Polish roots in Bremond, Marlin and New Waverly, Texas.