Polish Hill Arts Festival Sunday, July 18th 2010, 12-8 pm part of a festival weekend in Polish Hill

For almost eighty years, the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Polish Hill held a festival in mid-July. On Friday night, the intersection of Brereton and Dobson streets would be closed, and tents and tables set up. The church festival, which attracts members of the IHM parish, both current and former residents, features games of chance, Polish food, a rummage sale, and a polka band.

Noticing that the street barriers and festival tents remained in place all weekend, the Polish Hill Civic Association saw an opportunity to start a new tradition, and decided to put on an arts festival. During the first arts festival in July of 2008, a fierce storm hit, soaking vendors and attendees. But under the big tent, the bands kept playing, the sun eventually came out again, and the festival was counted as a rousing success. In its second year, the arts festival saw greater neighborhood participation and the addition of arts activities for all ages.

This year brings the third Polish Hill Arts Festival, and the neighborhood's festival weekend continues to grow. Music will play a larger role: Project 53, a musician’s resource center located in Polish Hill, received a Sprout

grant to present a Free 4 All, a two-day music festival which will include workshops and musical performances at multiple locations.

The arts festival, on Sunday July 18, will offer art-making activities for all ages and there will be artists and craftspeople selling their work. The vendors range from nuns to punks, there'll be Brazillian drumming, a Slavic-tinged marching band, a laser harp, pierogies and kielbasa, Italian ices, oh, lots of stuff. There will be hands-on art activities from the Andy Warhol Museum, the Mattress Factory, Carley Parrish, and Matt Mets. Members of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church will be selling Polish and American food; there will also be vendors selling ices and sweets. Polish Hill’s newest businesses will be open: a record store, a comic book shop, a gift shop; the new coffee shop will host The New Yinzer presents... Special Edition. And a film element will be introduced, with the Post Apocalyptic Movie Theater in the back room of Gooski’s bar.

The growth of Polish Hill’s festivals reflects the re-growth of the neighborhood itself. For decades, Polish Hill was, as the name implies, mostly the home of the descendents of the Polish immigrants who came to work in the steel mills. In the 60’s and 70’s, the neighborhood emptied out as residents left for the outlying suburbs, choosing better schools for their kids over the old neighborhood. Now, Polish Hill’s population is about a third of what it was forty years ago, but after years of decline, the neighborhood has been rediscovered. Perhaps half of our population is still of Polish descent; but the other half are a very diverse group. The mixture of people gives Polish Hill a distinct flavor. There are a lot of artists and other creative people in Polish Hill, and this year more of them will be involved in the festival. We hope that you will join us!

July 17 Immaculate Heart of Mary Church Festival Free4All Music Festival

July 18 Polish Hill Arts Festival 12-8 pm Free4All Music Festival