In the spring of every year, the town of Chappell Hill in Washington County Texas celebrates the arrival of the bluebonnet, the state flower of Texas with a two day festival on main street. This years festival on April 8 and 9, 2011 saw the streets lined with hundreds of arts, crafts and food booths along with activities for the children, exhibits at the museum and live entertainment and music.
Early Polish settlers in Washington County came to Chappell Hill in the late 1800’s so it was appropriate that one the descendants of these Poles, Dr. Jim Mazurkiewicz brought his old time traditional Polish music to the festival.
On Saturday, Dr. Jim along with his son James and fellow musician Mark Hopcus (a descendant of the early Polish settlers in Bremond) played from 10:45 am until 2:30 pm on the east side of the festival on a covered stage with tables and bales of hay to sit on. On Sunday, another descent of the early Washington County Poles, Frank Motley joind the three musicians on the covered sidewalk in front of the historic Chappell Hill Bank from Noon until 4pm. The lively Polish music attracted quite a crowd and even had a few people dancing.
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.