Presented By
April 2, 2022 • 3-8pm
Butler Vagabonds Center
$25 per person
includes voucher for one Polka Palooza Platter
with a variety of ethnic foods
WISR 80th Anniversary
WISR’s anniversary celebration continues with Polka Palooza. Join us at the Butler Vagabonds and enjoy an evening of live music, dancing, ethnic food and fundraising for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and the Brother’s Brother Foundation supporting humanitarian efforts in the Ukraine.
- Live music by the Polka Country Musicians
- Enjoy traditional German folk dancing of the Almrausch Schuhplattlers.
- Exclusive Polka Palooza Beer available to sample and purchase from Butler Brew Works and Missing Links Brewery
- Polka Palooza Dinner Platter offering a variety of ethnic foods. One platter included with each ticket.
- Special Raffle for a Wine Refrigerator, and a Silent Auction for an Autographed Pittsburgh Penguin Jersey benefitting the American Cancer Society’s local Relay for Life, and the Brother’s Brother Foundation.
- Basket Raffle presented by the Howard Insurance Agency
BEER SPECIALS
Thanks to our Beer sponsors for creating a special brew for WISR’s Polka Palooza. These custom beers will be available to sample and buy during the event.
Beer Special:
Electric Polka
Beer Special:
Polish Grodziskie
LIVE MUSIC
Polka Country Musicians
Enjoy dancing to the sounds of the Polka Country Musicians. The band was founded in 1977 by Rich Dombrowski. He and his brother Wally took the polka music their parents loved and made it their own.
Polka originated from peasant dances in Eastern Europe and grew widely popular in the mid-1800s. When immigrants brought the music with them to the U.S., new regional variations developed as the music took root. Polish polka split into two major styles: Chicago and East Coast. The Polka Country Musicians play a version of the Chicago style called “push.” Push polka bands typically feature double horns, accordion, concertina, bass, and drums. Over the years, and as players changed, the band developed its own distinct sound and adopted a slightly slower tempo suited for covers of country songs. When the band is playing in top form, audiences can be so captivated by the music they stop dancing to fully listen. “Connection with the people is huge,” Dombrowski explains, “it makes us want to perform that much better.”
ENTERTAINMENT
During the two breaks the band will take, enjoy the dancing of the Altoona Almrausch Schuhplattlers. The Schuhplattler is a traditional style of folk dance popular in the regions of Bavaria. In this dance, the performers stomp, clap and strike the soles of their shoes (Schuhe), thighs and knees with their hands held flat (platt). There are more than 150 basic Schuhplattlers, as well as marches and acrobatic feats that are often interspersed with the basic dance in performance.
The Almrausch schuhplattlers have been performing for over 80 years.
FUNDRAISING
Join us in raising funds for the American Cancer Society’s local Relay for Life.
Basket Raffle, 50/50 Drawing, and other fun ways to win…all supporting the
Relay for Life.