Polish Festival 2015

Last weekend I was super excited to be off of work because it was the Polish Festival down in Castle Hayne! Ryan and I went to the festival in 2012 during the first year we lived in NC but hadn't been able to make it back since... mainly due to silly things like work, shows, and deployments. So when this Saturday rolled around and we were not only both in the same country and off of work we decided to go back. It was super hot that day, nearly 80 degrees, and I was glad we both wore shorts. I don't think North Carolina got the memo it is November but I am so not complaining. The downside to the nice weather was that the festival was packed.

 

 

This was the line for food. Well, lines, one on each side of the booth. We sweated it out waiting for our chance to buy the mixed plate of food like we did last time and it was worth it. Ryan also got us some potato pancakes to eat while we waited. I was glad he did as we missed out on those last time!

 

I wanted them with sour cream but Ryan is on a health kick again and insisted on apple sauce. Sigh. My inner fat kid is so struggling to fight out!

 

We finally got to the front of the line and they loaded up our plates for us. The prices obviously went up a bit but it is so worth it. Sure, I just had Polish food with my Babci and Poppy a few weeks ago, but I can never have too many pierogies!!

The food was the same we got last time, sauerkraut with a roll, kielbasa, glumpke (beef and rice stuffed in a cabbage leaf) and pierogies with plenty of butter and onions.

 We also stopped by the bakery tent and got Chruściki (also called Angel Wings). My Babci's chruściki is definitely better, much crispier! This one was more like funnel cake strips than the yumminess that is chruściki.

 

After we ate we wandered back to the music tent to listen to the live Polka music and to try and at least dance together for one of them. It was crowded even on the dance floor so we mostly hopped around in a sort of two step that looked like it could maybe be a polka... if you were drunk enough.

 

Overall we had a fantastic time and I was super happy to indulge in some Polish food and traditions. It makes me feel like a little kid again visiting my grandparents. We didn't stay too long after that but it was definitely a fun afternoon.

SDA and Oktoberfest



I have blogged before about my husband applying to do his SDA (or Secondary Duty Assignment, or B-Billet) and the roller coaster ride the whole process has been. Well as of this Monday he is officially doing his SDA! Ryan got accepted to be an instructor at SOI (School of Infantry) at Camp Geiger for the next three years. So no PCSing in our future since it is still pretty close by. There will definitely be some long, long hours for him to work. For three years. Oh boy! Anyway, since he had to check out of his current unit at Lejeune on Friday and in to the new one at Geiger I got to see the rare sight of my husband in his Alphas. Yes, the dress blues are wonderful, but the Alphas make me swoon too! He get's some genuine WW2 era swag when he wears them in my eyes, especially when he gives his cover the twenty degree tilt as pictured below.

*SA-WOON*

After my husband checked in he came home and we decided to head to New Bern for the day to walk around and spend some time together since I was off from work. It was finally a little chilly so I dressed for semi-fall weather and tried a new hairstyle. Verdict is still out on how I feel about that!

 

I did get a little car sick on the drive there so I wasn't feeling my best when we arrived. The longer we walked around the better I felt though. Our first stop was at this giant, indoor flea market we never managed to visit before. It was pretty neat! We had fun exploring and Ryan found a pewter box with the comedy/tragedy faces on it with a matching necklace inside.. so he got it for me. (And by got it for me I mean he found it, realized he had no cash, saw I had some in my wallet, and I paid for it!) It was very sweet though.

 

We stopped at a few more shops after the Flea Market and Ryan was super excited to find a giant rooster in one of them. It is a long story (aside from the USC Gamecocks affiliation) but we had to get the picture to send to his best friend Josh. The man never likes to get his picture taken and complains like crazy until there is a five foot tall rooster on a table. Sigh.

 

 

As we walked around we saw signs for the Oktoberfest the Rotary Club was putting on for their fundraiser. I was feeling better so we got some tickets at the gate and decided to go in. We had some delicious brauts and sauerkraut with German potato salad and some really delicious Oktoberfest from the Carolina Brewing Company. We also paid a little extra for some Apple Streudel and German Chokolat Cake! We got to meet a lot of really nice people and have some good food and drink, so it was definitely a win. A lot of people came in ethnic outfits and there was also a full German Folk Band with dancing!

These old people were my favorite, they were loving it!

We had enough beers that when some of our new friends dragged us out to polka we were willing to give it a shot! Even though I am extremely Polish my extent of Polka knowledge is the Chicken Dance, so our polka was more like a two step with Ryan leading and an extra bounce thrown in for good measure.

 

As Oktoberfest wound down we found a bar nearby with an outdoor stage and live music. I was done drinking at this point so I could drive, but we did stop in and listen for a few songs. I sobered up for sure because when Ryan tried to drag me down front to dance to Sweet Home Alabama I dug in my heels! He went and rocked out though.

 

We definitely had a great time and I was pretty bummed I had to work the next day, I would have loved to stay out later!

 

The outdoor music

 

15th Annual Polish Fesitval

A few weeks ago in our church bulletin I saw a notice about the 15th Annual Polish Festival at St. Stan's, a Catholic Church maybe an hour or so away. For those of you who don't know me too well, I am very Polish. My Babci (Polish for grandmother) is 100% and is fluent in the language, as are her sisters. We always knew they were talking about something good when we were growing up because they switched to Polish so us grandkids couldn't understand. Every birthday on my mom's side of the family we sing in English and then in Polish (Sto Lat) and all of us know a few phrases at least. My Babci makes the most amazing Polish food that I miss dearly so I knew we had to go to the festival.

Saturday we slept in and made our way down to Castle Hayne NC. The festival went from 11-5 and we arrived around 2:30 or so. It was perfect! Free parking and free admission. There was a ton of Polish food, crafts, beer and music... a live Polka Band! We naturally started off with the food.

Clockwise from the top we have potato pierogies (dough like dumplings with potato inside) with buttered onions, glumpke (meat, rice and spices wrapped in a cabbage leaf with tomato sauce) and kielbasa (a sausage) with sauerkraut and a roll. Ryan and I split the plate and were perfectly content. After we ate we walked around for a bit.

We did miss out on the potato pancakes (by the time we were hungry they sold out) and only managed to get some small cookies from the bake tent. Still delicious. We also browsed the crafts (I got a Coca Cola airplane made from a can to put in my bathroom) and it made me really miss my Babci. The afghans and blankets were like the ones she knits. We skipped out on the silent auction and made our way to the music and dancing.

 Have you ever seen andyone Polka before? My grandparents did it at our wedding (and many times growing up) and let me tell you, there is no such thing as a fat Polka dancer! It is fast and fun and those old people can totally cut a rug! They were spinning around us like it was as easy as walking.

 Obviously in a still picture you can't see the speed, but these people were flying around the floor!

 We joined in for one or two dances. I know some basic steps and Ryan and I basically just hopped around a lot! Luckily I was able to bribe him with Polish beer so he was much more cooperative about dancing than usual.

The band was fantastic too. I heard songs I remember hearing at Babci and Poppy's house on the radio growing up and they even made some modern songs into a polka (see Boot Scootin Boogie and You Are My Sunshine). Naturally I wanted to get a tshirt, and a Christmas ornament, and my husband only rolled his eyes a little at my cornieness.

 Regardless we had an amazing time and definitely plan on going back next year! I also heard Jacksonville does a Polish Day in January that we also may have to check out.

Normally you don't see a lot of chubby cheeked, blonde haired, blue eyed people in one place but you could tell at the Festival that I was among my people! I was a dime a dozen in Castle Hayne!

Sunday we donated blood to try and help with the shortage from the Hurricane. Ryan is O- (and naturally afraid of needles) but we both knew we had to try and help out. We also have made financial contributions to the Red Cross and Americares. Please donate if you are able; whether it be time, money, blood, clothes or prayers all are appreciated in New Jersey and New York and all the areas hit by Sandy.

Post blood donation we made our way to the Olive Garden and had a nice dinner (and did that special deal where we took home dinner for another day, awesome concept) before coming home to watch the Giants lose. Sigh. Can't win them all! Overall we had a wonderful weekend and hopefully many more like them to come!

And if you didn't already, don't forget to vote today. I am off to the polls.... hopefully the lines aren't too long.

My give away is almost done! Have you entered yet?? Another awesome give away will be up later this week!