matt gryczan - WKTV Journal

Courtesy Polish Heritage Society of Grand Rapids

By Matt Gryczan

In honor of the 40^th anniversary of its annual Dozynki Polish Harvest Festival, the Polish Heritage Society of Grand Rapids has turbocharged the free event this upcoming weekend with top-notch entertainment and demonstrations of Polish cooking, dance and crafts.

This year, the festival features:

Polka dance lessons, led by instructors from the P.R.C.U.A. Malbork Dance Ensemble;
Demonstrations on how to make pierogi (dumplings), chrusciki (cookies), beet soup, haluski (fried cabbage and noodles), mizeria (cucumber salad), crepes and canning peaches;
Presentations on Polish pottery and the fine art of creating pysanky eggs;
Explanations of Polish folklore such as how to tell a person’s future from hay straw and the meanings behind the Wigilia feast on Christmas Eve; and
Crafting treasure boxes for children.

“A lot of the activities will center around our demonstration tent, which we liken to a visit to your busia’s (grandmother’s) kitchen — the place where all the fun stuff is going on,” said Marilyn Lignell, past society president and demonstrator of the Wigilia feast.

In addition, the Polish Heritage Society is bringing the internationally known Lenny Gomulka & Chicago Push band to play two nights of the three-day event, along with other well-regarded polka bands, including Gerry Kaminski’s Polka Network, Dave Slivinski & The Noteables, Gary Szotko’s GPS Polka Band, the Polski Chix Polka Band and Ray Watkoski’s Family Band.

Gomulka is considered a living legend in the polka community; he’s developed a huge base of followers in the United States and Canada since he formed the Chicago Push in 1980. Nominated for 12 Grammy awards in the polka genre, he was inducted into the International Polka Music Hall of Fame & Museum in his hometown of Chicago in 2016.

Admission is free to the Dozynki Polish Harvest Festival at Rosa Parks Circle, 135 Monroe Center, from Aug. 23-25, and there will be plenty of inexpensive parking in Parking Lot Areas 7, 8, and 9 for those who don’t mind a short walk.

Other fun activities during the festival include the paczki eating contest, crowning of the busia queen and a performance by the P.R.C.U.A. Malbork Dance Ensemble, a dance group for youth ages 3-18 that teaches traditional Polish folk dances with authentic garb.

The Polish Heritage Society also selects a local not-for-profit group for special recognition during the festival as a way to build awareness and support for the organization, and this year the society is highlighting the Wolverine Worldwide Family YMCA in Belmont. Representatives of The Y will be present during the afternoons of the festival to educate visitors about the offerings and mission of the organization.

The Dozynki Polish Harvest Festival is the major fundraiser for the Polish Heritage Society of Grand Rapids, a non-profit organization founded in 1963 to perpetuate and advance the Polish culture that has been so integral to metro Grand Rapids. Among a number of its activities, the society awards scholarships annually to students of Polish descent who attend Aquinas College, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids Community College, and Davenport University.

For a full calendar of events for the three-day Dozynki Polish Harvest Festival, please view the society’s website at Polish Heritage Society of Grand Rapids.

Jess McDonald at Rockwell Republic says ArtPrize is now the busiest season of the year. (Photo reprinted by permission from Engine and Matt Gryczan. All copyrights reserved.) — Jess McDonald at Rockwell Republic says ArtPrize is now the busiest season of the year.

By Matt Gryczan

Downtown Grand Rapids restauranteurs say that ArtPrize has eclipsed Christmas as the busiest season for walk-in traffic — and that can be a double-edged sword for a restaurant that isn’t prepared for the people crush.

But the boost in patronage is a welcomed problem, particularly since it smooths out the sometimes feast-or-famine nature of serving food downtown. Another interesting note: the number of new faces entering your door can depend on if there’s a hot entry nearby.

“This is the biggest three weeks of the year for us, hands down,” said Jess McDonald, day manager of the Rockwell half of Rockwell Republic at 45 S. Division Ave. “ArtPrize helps to bring in all sorts of new clients.”

The colorful chalkboard on the sidewalk at Rockwell Republic said it all: “ArtPrize 2016 — Stop in for food & Art.” There was a steady flow of patrons for the arts and dining on Thursday morning, some who lingered to savor Corrine Hudson’s entry in oils, “Abstract Landscape.”

“Do you have any more art?” one visitor asked. There was, on the Republic side of the business that was closed for serving lunch, but open for people to saunter through its temporary gallery of 6 other artworks.

“In all honesty, the traffic of new people can depend on where the pieces are located,” Jess said. “Popular pieces obviously bring in more people.”

San Chez Bistro around the corner from Rockwell Republic on Fulton Street steels its waitstaff for the three-week event where “you work your bones to the core,” said proprietor Cindy Schneider. “ArtPrize can make or break a restaurant for the year, especially if you’re not ready for waves of people. The food has to be tasty, hot and on-time to the table.”

During the 8-year run of ArtPrize, she’s seen two restaurants struggle near her location at 38 W. Fulton St. as they tried to ride the event’s wave. They both opened shortly before ArtPrize and closed only a few weeks later.

“They didn’t show well,” Cindy said. “They were slammed by the crowds, and people didn’t have the type of experience you need to bring them back again. The time to open is just after ArtPrize, and take the year to get ready.”

Like Rockwell Republic, San Chez sees more walk-in traffic during ArtPrize than Christmas or any other season of the year now.

It’s uncertain if ArtPrize trumps Christmas as the busiest season, depending on how you define the season and include outside events such as holiday parties, said Hillary Smith, general manager of Bistro Bella Vita at 44 Grandville Ave. SW, “but it’s 100% certain that ArtPrize is a very important time for us.”

She said the restaurant starts to organize its waitstaff starting in July to make sure everything is up to snuff when ArtPrize starts. “We don’t necessarily need to add staff, because we have a big staff here anyway, but we do need to be organized.”

Story and photo printed with permission from Engine and Matthew Gryczan. All copyrights reserved.