By Rachel Knight
Pam Mitchell with the Bremond Historical Society helping someone with genealogy research at the museum
What event brings between 5,000 to 6,000 people to Bremond, a small town with a city population of 950? Polskí Dzíen, or Polish Days: a Polish heritage festival that more than doubles the town’s population and brings people from around the world to the Brazos Valley.
This two-day heritage festival has become a tradition and celebrates its 31st year this summer. On June 22 and 23 the streets of the Polish capital of Texas will be lined with Polish foods, polka bands, Polish descendants in traditional Polish attire, dancers, and thousands of people coming together for Polish Days.
According to Theresa “Tessy” Crawford, festival coordinator, Polish Days serves as a homecoming for Bremond.
“A lot of people have family from here, but they’ve moved off to other communities for careers and such,” Crawford says. “This is their time to come home and celebrate their roots.”
Jeanne Wierzbicki is a Polish Days founder. She did not realize how long Polish Days has been around until a recent conversation with her grandson. He informed her there has been a Polish Days festival in Bremond all of his life.
“Everybody wants to come home for Polish Days, because that is the day,” Wierzbicki says. “Of course now they bring all their friends and we’ve tried to make it more Polish.”
Wierzbicki says the festival got its start in 1987 when the city was looking for a way to bring in a little money. As the founders brainstormed possible fundraisers, the school superintendent, Joe Phariss, hatched the winning idea. “Why don’t we do a heritage festival?” Wierzbicki recalls Phariss saying to the group. The founders liked the idea and began planning their first heritage festival.
“We [planned] our first one in 15 days,” Wierzbicki says. “We did a battle of the bands, a tug of war, and the street dance. It was a very successful fundraiser for us only having the 15 days to get everything ready.”
Now the planning process for Polish Days starts in September. Festivities at the event include the Polish Pickle 5K and Kids Run, a BBQ cook-off, parade, beauty pageant, polish costume contest, polka and waltz contest, hairy legs and beer belly contest, margarita mix up, shopping, sports, dominoes, and more.
This year’s festival pays tribute to the origins of the event, according to Crawford. Favorite activities from the past like the Best of Bremond Pickle Contest are back this year. People living in the Bremond area who make pickles bring jars of homemade pickles to the event. Spectators are able to purchase tickets and vote for their favorites.
Dr. Jim Mazurkiewicz, one of the original musicians that has performed almost every year
Additionally, the opening band for the Saturday evening street dance, the Cherokee Rose Band, is a familiar crowd favorite. Gordon Collier from KWTX is this year’s band headliner. Traditional Polish foods — pierogi, sausage, sauerkraut, and cold beer (Piwo) — also add to the heritage portion of the festival. “One of [our] vendors comes all the way from Wisconsin to cook up authentic Polish food,” Crawford says.
Bremond Mayor Rick Swick says the event wouldn’t be possible without the astonishing number of volunteers who pitch in during Polish Days, and they’re always looking for more. According to Swick, the highly anticipated event does not make a lot of money, but is good for the community in other ways.
“When you have activities such as this, it keeps people active, it keeps people motivated, it gives people something to look forward to,” Swick says.
The importance of Polish Days lies in what it offers people of Polish decent and non-Polish decent alike. It is a time for both education and celebration of Polish heritage.
“Everyone is welcome to come,” Crawford says. “We are all here together. We’re all neighbors. Let’s all celebrate together.”
Joining the fun at Polskí Dzíen is free until the Saturday Night Street Dance. Tickets to the Saturday Night Street dance can be purchased for $10 in advance online, at the Bremond Library, at the Chamber’s booth during Polish Days, or for $15 at the gate. The Marion Slafka Memorial Dance on Friday is free and starts after the conclusion of the beauty pageant. Learn more about Polskí Dzíen, sign up for contests, or become a volunteer by visiting www.bremondtexas.org.
