Polish Festival History

Festival Beginnings...

The Boyne Falls Polish Festival has been an annual event since 1975. In 1974 a committee was formed to plan for America's Bicentennial coming up in 1976. The Boyne Falls Bicentennial Committee, as it was known, sought ideas and donations from the community. The state of Michigan was also providing some matching funds to villages planning to participate in the nation's birthday. Janet Rewald was the chariman. Help from the Chandler Hill Community Bicentennial Committee was sought. Judy Gigante from Chandler came over and consulted.

During preparation for the 1976 event, the idea was floated to also have a festival in 1975 to celebrate the village centennial. So history was made. The village decided to have a Centennial Celebration for Boyne Falls to be held in August 1975.

Some of the key players in the first festival were Art Hutchings, Mary Ellen Balog, Christine Smith (Thomas), Marian Skop, Nancy Dunham, Della Sevenski, Camille Yarbrough, Geneva Towne, Helen Lyons, Herb DeNise, Vickie Skop, Yvonne Metzger, Jane Denise, Bernie Kondrat and JoAnn Gibes.

The festival was to have a Polish theme. It was decided that the festival would try to make money, but not gouge. The festival was to be a family-friendly event. To keep it local, food vendors were not permitted, opting instead for the school classes to sell the food. An ordinance was passed to prevent people from having to pay for parking. It all came together and first festival proved to be a crowd pleaser.

1975

The first three days of August of that year were filled with non-stop Polka music and Polish food. The beer flowed in the tent and the carnival entertained. Saturday featured the first Grand Royale parade. George Matelski was the first honored citizen and Judy Matelski was voted Centennial Queen.

Boyne Falls school students helped put together a history book of the village, which is still being sold today. The first book sold for $3 back in 1975.

Pictures from the first festival can be viewed in the photo gallery section. Newspaper articles about the formation of the festivals can be found at the bottom of this page. These articles provide some insight into the history of the festival.

After the 1975 festival, an awards ceremony was held. George Matelski was presented with a framed letter from President Gerald Ford. Bernie Kondrat was presented with a participation award for his efforts in coordinating and running the old farm equipment exhibit. Bernie would continue to operate the steam engine show and threshing demonstrations at the festival for many years.

1976

The following year, 1976, Boyne Falls celebrated the Nation's Bicentennial. The cover of the booklet for the 1976 celebration is shown to the right. The theme was of course the Bicentennial with a Polish flair.

1977 and beyond

In 1977 it became officially known as the Boyne Falls Polish Festival. The festival was not without it growing pains. Orignally the Knights of Columbus provided for the beer tent and Polka bands. One of the festival attendees was injured during the 1978 festival. Who would pay became an issue. The Knights claimed it was not their responsibility and the festival committee said it wasn't theirs. The amount of money involved was $455. The Knights pulled out of any future involvement. The festival had no sponsor and was in jeopardy of being canceled. Fortunately the Ellsworth Lions stepped in and saved the day, taking over the bartending role. The Elmira Fire Department managed the food concession in the tent.

In the early festival days, the community would prepare the food for a Polish lunch. People would prepare their special dishes and bring them down to the fire hall for a Polish Lunch. Kind of a pot-luck. The lunch became so popular that it was soon impractical to prepare lunch in that manner. Just too many people. The first lunches made this way were served up at the old fire hall (now the library). It then moved over to the school cafeteria where the lunch was prepared in a better environment.

During the late 1970's the festival continued to grow. Throughout the years festival management changed and so did the events held, but the Grand Royale Parade, mud run and beer tent have remained a staple throughout the years. The carnival and vendor markets are also featured each year. Lots of good stuff to purchase can be found each year. Food is served up by the school classes and also the inside the tent. The Senior Class get the honor of serving up the Polish food each year. Special events such as rodeos, horse pulls, teen dances, and movies were held from time to time. Previous sports events have included a conoe race across the pond, foot races, road & river relay and basketball events.

A few weeks after the festival, when everyone has had a chance to recover, the volunteer's and their families get together for an after-festival-party in appreciation for all the hard work and effort.

Profits from the festival have been used to build the village pavillion, help purchase an ambulance and other emergency department equipment for the village. Money is also given to the schools, churches, Camp Quality, and surrounding communities.

In 2020 the Polish Festival was canceled due to the Corona Virus. It resumed the following year in 2021.

Here are some additonal articles from the earliest festivals. Click on an article to enlarge...