The Good Lord blessed the people at Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic Church with two days of really nice spring weather as the church held their 7th annual Polish Festival on Saturday, May 4 and Sunday, May 5, 2013 on the church grounds in the Spring Branch area of Houston. The festival opened on Saturday morning with a rousing performance by Houston’s own Wawel Dance Group.
Dr. Jim Mazurkiewicz and his Polska Kapela band featuring C J Jozwiak, Charlie Brossman, James Mazurkiewicz and six year old Iwo Pliszczynski entertained the crowd during the early afternoon with their special brand of old time Polish dance music. Opening ceremonies followed with a presentation of the American, Polish and Texas flags, singing of the national anthems of the United States and Poland, the Krakow Bugle Call and singing of Polish songs. Other entertainment on Saturday included porformences by the Polish School Children, a very spirited pierogi eating contest, Polonez dance contest and lots of music by DJ Chris Piorkowski.
On Sunday, the festival started with Holy Mass followed by a colorful parade with lots of adults and children dressed in native folk costumes. Afternoon entertainment included performances by the Polish School Children, Wawel Dance Group, a pierogi eating contest and plenty of dance music by Accordion Cowboy Chris Rybak and his band.
The festival provided a variety of things to do for adults and children. There were games, a water slide, bounce houses, art studio and other fun activities in the children’s area. The entrance to the festival was lined with vendor booths full of t-shirts, jewelry, artwork, crafts and other items. The silent auction which was held in the new parish hall.
Long lines formed for the good food which included delicious Polish pierogi, golabki, kielbasa, kiszka, bigos and American barbeque and hot dogs. A huge assortment of traditional cakes, rolls and desserts was served all day and there was plenty of cold piwo including Polish Tyskie, wine and soft drinks to go with it.
If you missed this years festival, be sure and make plans now to attend next year.
Below are a few photos of the fun and there is a slideshow of many more photos from Saturday on page 2 and slideshow of photos from Sunday on page 3, 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.