The air in Cedar will once again be filled with accordion music, kielbasa smoke, and happy voices this week, Thursday through Sunday, as the Cedar Polka Fest returns for its 44th year.
“Tents went up over the weekend, and we’ve got polka and beer,” Polka Festival Event Organizer Lisa Rossi-Brett said. “The bands are on their way ... It’s coming along ... bingo is coming back for the 2nd year. Last year was our inaugural year of bingo. We’ve got a bingo tent, so it’ll actually be part of the event instead of last year we had it in our barn.”
The festival, one of the last of its kind still running in the country, draws an estimated 10,000 people to Cedar over four days. It’s all put on with the help of a small army of volunteers, coordinated through the Cedar Chamber of Commerce, who staff everything from the beer tent to the parade route in exchange for free admission and a couple of drinks.
The Polka Fest will shut down earlier than in years past, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, hoping to welcome the church rush before putting a bow on the event.
“We find there’s a big rush right after church. And then it falls off a cliff, and we’re all exhausted,” Rossi-Brett said.
“So it just made more sense just to let the church group get some food and have a few drinks and spend some money with our vendors and then tear down while we still have enough energy actually to get it done.”
The teardown will last throughout next week.
Bishop Jeffrey Walsh of the Diocese of Gaylord will celebrate Mass, complete with polka music. The event usually draws close to 1,000 people.
This year, the Run for the Kielbasa is actually going to be a run for the kielbasa, as every runner will get a grilled kielbasa at the end of the run.
Veterans get in free Saturday. The Ultimate Air Dogs are back, which is a free event, and the Classic Hagerty Car Show on Sunday morning, and the iconic Polka Fest Parade Saturday at noon.
For the first time in the Polka Fest’ history, the Cedar Tavern will be one of the food vendors.
Cedar Tavern owner Jim Green will be open throughout the Polka Fest and will even have a float in the parade featuring several old-time customers. Cedar Tavern and Bunting’s Market are teaming up to serve burgers and other meats at the iconic Polish festival.
“We’ve been coming on and off for 22 years. The Polka Fest is quirky and our favorite,” Green said. “We continue to remain strong and bust this summer with a lot of first-time customers and past timers coming back in.”
There is new a food tent featuring several vendors so customers don’t have to stand in the sweltering sun.
The music lineup features returning favorites Bavarski, The Diddle Styx and Polka Generations, along with the Dynabrass and the Scottville Clown Band, who help round things out on Saturday.
Beyond the music, the festival will keep its usual mix of smalltown traditions. A grand parade starts at noon on Saturday featuring the Scottville Clown Band, which has been a staple of the festival for years. Sunday morning brings a traditional Polish Mass as a nod to the town’s Polish heritage that first sparked the festival over four decades ago, followed by a car show. An arts and crafts fair will run throughout the weekend, and Ultimate Air Dogs will hold the always-popular dog jumping competition Friday and Saturday, which is a change from last year.
More information can be found at cedarpolkafest.org
