On Sunday, I went to the Little Poland Festival in New Britain, CT. This is only the 3rd in a series of annual events put on by the Polonia Business Association. The Festival covered about 3 blocks along Broad Street which featured about 60 booths filled with great Polish food, souveniers (pamiętki), information and Polish organizations too numerous to mention. There was entertainment during the day which included Polish music, dancing, a Miss Little Poland pageant, Pązki eating contest and much more. I live in New Hampshire and its a long 3 hour drive down to New Britain, CT and the weather forecast had been questionable for Sunday, but after waking up early that day, I checked the weather and it looked promising so I decided to go for some fun. I was glad I arrived early (about 8:30 AM) as I was able to get a good parking spot!
I brought along my Kujawy (The folk costume from the area where my ancestors are from in Poland... Gniewkowo near Inowrocław) and I wore it during the festival. I helped out at the booth for the Polish American Foundation with Dorena Wasik and Jonathon Shea of the Polish
Genealogical Society of Connecticut and the Northeast. The spot for the booth was next to one of the big attractions at the festival (the beautifully dressed ladies from the UCONN Polish Cultural Society) right in front of PolMart - Sklep Spożywcze i Delikatesy.We all had a wonderful time chatting with attendees and fieldiing questions from those interested in Polish American traditions and genealogy. When hunger struck, there was no shortage of food and I took the opportunity to get something to eat from various vendors and businesses along the street. Just a few items that were on the menu included - pierogis, gołabki, potato pancakes, kielbasa, zapienkanki & of course BEER!. There was also a huge number of deserts to choose from.
If you are looking for a good time whether or not you are Polish, I would suggest you attend the Festival next year. See you next year.
I have added a few photos below... ENJOY!
