The scorching hot Texas sun didn’t stop the large crowd of people who came to Chappell Hill Texas on Sunday, September 1, 2013 for St. Stanislaus Catholic Church’s 76th annual homecoming bazaar. A delicious catered barbecue dinner was served beginning at 11am along with plenty of cold beer and soft drinks. There were lots of fun booths along with bingo for the adults and a toy booth, train ride and other activities for the kids. The live auction with lots of great items started at 2pm.
At 2:30 in the afternoon Polish fiddler Daniel Cendalski and his Country Boys Band took to the stage under the pavilion for a final Chappell Hill show before he retires after 65 years of playing music in Washington County. A first for this bazaar was a performance by Tekla Klebetnika, a group of four young musicians directly from Poland. Zygmunt Czupryn, Anna Adamowska, Marek Konček, and Marcin Bobak kept the crowd dancing and cheering.
Next on the agenda was a Polish folk dance performance by Dance Group Wawel from Our Lady Of Czestochowa Catholic Church in Houston. After the dancing, an awards ceremony was held with awards for the top three adult raffle ticket sellers and the top two ticket selling children who were honored as “przodownica” leading female harvester and “przodownik” leading male harvester of the upcoming St. Stanislaus Dozynki Mass Celebration. Daniel Cendalski played a Polish tune while the children danced with Jim and Kathy Mazurkiewicz.
A surprise award of a beautiful framed certificate was then given to Daniel Cendalski for his accomplishment of playing Polish music for the last 65 years. After the award was given to him, the crowd insisted that Daniel play a few more Polish tunes. Most of us are hoping that Daniel will change his mind and come out of retirement to play at next years bazaar.
At 7 PM, Shane Januszewski and his Texas Remedy band took to the stage for some serious country music. Meanwhile, an impromtu Polish jam session was organized on the front steps of the historic St. Stanislaus Church. Musicians included Dr. Jim Mazurkiewicz, James Mazurkiewiecz, Brian Marshall, Frank Motley, CJ Jozwiak, Charlie Brossman, Lawrence Wisnoski, Brian Wisnoski, Zygmunt Czupryn and Ania Adamowska.
At 9 pm, while the band took a break, St. Stanislaus pastor Fr. Jozef Musiol presided over the raffle drawing which included plenty of great prizes.
Below are a few photos of the fun and there is a slideshow of many 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.