BALTIMORE (Map, News) - People with Polish roots and those who want to experience Polish culture should visit the 34th Annual Polish Festival this weekend in Balltimore's Patterson Park at the intersection Eastern Avenue and Linwood Avenue.

Organized by the Polish Community Association of Maryland, the festival will kick off the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts Showcase of Nations Ethnic Festivals.

The festival was founded by Polish immigrants living in Baltimore. “They wanted a reminder of the things they missed, a reminder of things back home,” said Association President Steve Lesniewski.

“Now, you see a lot of various ethnic backgrounds in the people who attend. They enjoy the flavor, the music. It gives everyone an opportunity to experience a different ethnic heritage.”

“We have a mixture of all kinds of people,” said Halina Maliszewski, secretary of the association. “They are interested in getting homecooked food, listening to upbeat music and quenching their thirst with Polish beer.”

The festival will showcase authentic Polish food such as pierogi (dumplings), golabki (meat-stuffed cabbage) and chrusciki (bow-tie cookies), as well as different types of Polish beer. There will be storytelling, sing-a-longs, trivia contests and Polish dancing.

New to the event this year is the Paul, Kelly and Mary Folk Group — a Polish dancing troupe from Philadelphia.

“I think everyone will enjoy watching them dance and seeing the costumes,” Maliszewski said. “And the music is very festive, very fun and energizing.”

Also new is the heritage tent, which will feature a speaker who will discuss the history of Poland. The festival’s younger guests can hear popular Polish children’s stories told by a puppeteer in a kid-friendly area.

“There’s a wide diversity of ethnic neighborhoods in Baltimore because of the fact that it is a port city,” Lesniewski said. “The festival brings a lot of people of second and third generations to the area that their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents originated from.”

ecampbell@baltimoreexaminer.com

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