Lingaur returns to Polka Fest

It’s been two decades since Mike Lingaur graduated from Lake Leelanau St. Mary and another dozen years since he last attended the Cedar Polka Fest.

On Sunday, Father Michael Lingaur returned to the Polka Fest, joining Bishop Jeffrey J. Walsh in leading a Mass that brought more than 700 people under the big top to receive communion, recite the Eucharistic Prayer, and listen to holy music sung in Polish. Walsh attended for the third time in the last four years.

“Some traditional Polish songs were sung,” said Lingaur, who was ordained in 2020. “You could see people drawing on the memories of being sung those songs by their grandparents. Many of those with Polish heritage sang along like it was a lullaby in their crib.”