Let's Gdansk the Night Away!
Swirling folk dancers and rich, tasty foods will be attractions at the 12th annual Oregon Polish Festival Sept. 24-25 in North Portland, Oregon. But faith is the foundation. However, when has that ever gotten in the way of a good time?
More than 12,000 people attended last year’s celebration, reveling in Oregon’s 110-year-old Polish-Catholic neighborhood. Many of the descendants of the Polish immigrants in the 1880s still live in the Overlook District. It’s the largest Polish festival in the Western United States, says coordinator Marek Stepien, who has studied major Polish festivals in the American Midwest and Canada.
Saturday evening will conclude with a “Let’s Gdansk” street dance on closed-off North Failing Street between Interstate and Montana Avenues.
Oregon’s first Polish families were predominantly from the Carpathian Mountains of southern Poland and eastern Poland near present-day Belarus. The families created a Polish National Alliance chapter in 1892 and built the historic St. Stanislaus Church in 1907 and Polish Library Hall in 1911. Both landmarks display Romanesque architecture common in southern Poland and have been officially recognized as state historic sites.
Best wishes to all the participants from Gdansk! Perhaps in the future, we can organize some sort of Dance-off? You'll get 'served' with some sweet moves and an unswerving faith in God!