A day of polka, dancing and more: Hampton Beach to host first Polka Fest
HAMPTON — The Hampton Beach Village District is hosting its first Polka Fest Sunday, Aug. 21 at Hampton Beach.
The event will take place from 1:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the Seashell Stage featuring the best polka bands in the region.
"We are very excited to be hosting this event," said Chuck Rage, chairman of the Hampton Beach Village District Commission. "People of Polish descent love to celebrate their culture and share it with everyone. We are hoping in the future to celebrate different cultures and great traditions."
The Polka Beetbox Band will kick off the event at 1:30 p.m. Led by Dan Blajda, also known as "Polka Dan," the band plays a variety of European village tunes, some of which date back hundreds of years in Blajda's family.
Eastern Sound, named the No. 1 Polka Band in NH, will follow at 4:30 p.m.
John Sobczak, founding member of Eastern Sound, said that polka festivals are a good time to sing along with the bands and music.
"They provide great family entertainment," he said. He also expressed how "very excited the band is to be performing with the other bands" on the schedule.
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The headliner of the festival will be Maestro's Men, a Grammy-nominated, Polka Hall of Fame, award-winning band.
Amanda Morneault, who is the entertainment director for Hampton Beach, said she's excited about the festival. She is of Polish descent and doesn't want to see old traditions die.
"So the hope is to bring this to a new generation, one that will appreciate the spirit of the event," she said.
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Polish food and other fun on the menu
The Cascade Seaside Restaurant & Deck will be serving Polish food in honor of the event.
On the menu is pierogis- creamy bacon and corn sauce, scallion, pickled onion- and Golabki- pork stuffed cabbage rolls, tomato sauce, pickled red onion. They will also be serving grilled kielbasa with sauerkraut, yellow mustard and rice pilaf.
"Adding a Polish food menu served at a nearby restaurant, the festival really steps things up and helps us to look forward to a second year, perhaps with more restaurants jumping in to make their own offerings for the day," said Lisa Martineau, co-marketing director for the Hampton Beach Village District.
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The Hampton Beach Village District invites folks to come in traditional dress or costume and plan to participate in traditional polka dancing.
"Although at this time we have not yet secured a dance instructor, we are working to find one that will come in during the day and teach some Polka," Martineau said. "If not, we hope that anyone who knows how to polka will share their skills on the dance floor."
Martineau said the day will also feature a few surprises.
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"We expect to have some giveaways too, and of course, we hope that attendees will dance and sing along, or even wear traditional dress," she said. "That will be at the heart of the prizes. So be prepared to come and dance or dress for the event."
The Polka Fest will take place at the Seashell Stage at the center of Hampton Beach. Admission is free. The festival is paid for and hosted by the Hampton Beach Village District. Please visit their website's page on Polka Fest for additional information, visit https://hamptonbeach.org/events/polka/.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Hampton Beach NH to host first Polka Fest
