Sunday, May 5, 2013

Polski Day Packs in People Despite the Weather

Who knew?

Who knew that, besides great food, wonderful music and good friends, the 29th annual Polski Day celebration could teach life lessons about the importance of communicating, the value of connecting and the continuing need to celebrate the rich cultural history of Kansas City, Kansas?



Although other commitments kept us from attending until late in the day, my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed Polski Day activities on May 4, 2013 on the grounds of All Saints Parish near Mill and Vermont Streets (square in the heart of District 2). Cold and cloudy weather didn't keep the crowds away and couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of all who attended.

You can see photos from this year's event online in the KCK Polski Day Celebration 2013 album.

I don't have a speck of Polish blood in my family tree, but I absolutely can't resist the great food served as part of the Polish dinner in the church basement, so that's where we headed first. Although they were out of homemade golambki (cabbage rolls) by the time we arrived, we still enjoyed polish sausage, sauerkraut, pierogies, powitica and some fabulous handmade cookies.

I borrowed this picture from the Polski Day web site.
Although it was taken in 2011, it gives a good idea of
the seemingly perpetual line of people waiting to get a great Polish dinner.
Yesterday's line stretched well outside into the church parking lot at one point.

One of the most interesting parts of our visit came after we paid for our meals and looked for a place to sit.

We found a couple of empty seats at a table where a young man sat quietly enjoying the ambience of the room. We introduced ourselves to him and when he spoke in return, his accent gave away the fact that he was definitely not from Kansas City, Kansas. We learned that he was born in Poland, earned his PhD in Germany and moved with his wife to the Kansas City area about 3 1/2 years ago.

He and his family do not live in Kansas City, Kansas and he had never heard of Polski Day until a couple of weeks ago. He learned of this year's event through an article written by Mike Hendricks of the Kansas City Star ("Polish identity sticks, though few remain").

He said that he thought, "Who knew?" as he read the article and decided to make a visit. He was very complimentary of the event, the food, the music and the people.

Another photo from 2011.
People still line the parade route (even in cloudy and cold weather)
and create a huge party atmosphere from start to finish.

Our conversation reminded me of a couple of things…

First, how important it is to continue telling our stories and celebrating the people and the activities in our area. Those of us who have been here for a while tend to get a little complacent and bored because, to us, it's "the same old stuff".

However, people in the world today are more mobile than ever and we always have the potential of reaching a new audience who haven't heard about us, who don't know about our past, who haven't visited our present and who can't begin to imagine our hopes for the future.

Second, whether we find them or they find us, it's critical that we keep reaching out to these folks and welcoming them into our neighborhood and community. As much or more than any other part of the Kansas City metro area, Kansas City, Kansas has an extraordinarily diverse cultural history that continues to evolve almost daily.

Final photo from 2011.
I could try to tell you that it was from yesterday, but to do that I'd have to
take away the sun, add jackets to the people
and put a heated tent over all of the tables with red tablecloths. :-)

It's fascinating to look at the huge collection of turn-of-the-century churches built in District 2 and realize that, decades ago, each church was linked to a particular immigrant and/or ethnic group. I've often marveled at the fact that my own Irish immigrant father landed in Kansas City Kansas (of all places) when he came to the United States at age 24.

Somewhere around the house, I have a copy of a book titled, "The Consolidated Ethnic History of Wyandotte County". It was written and published by Loren Taylor several years ago. It's easily two or three fingers thick and it's a testament to all of the new folks have chosen to call Wyandotte County home over the years.

So, my "take home" message from Polski Day 2013 is that we need to continue telling our stories and reaching out to each other within our great community. We need to communicate and connect so that Kansas City, Kansas becomes a "destination location" for people who want to live, work and play in the midwest.

There are dozens of other ethnic and cultural events that take place throughout the year in District 2. I'm going to do my best to share a little bit about each of them over the coming year.

Have a great week everyone!


~ Brian

bmckiernan@wycokck.org
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