CLEVELAND, Ohio – As sleet fell on Monday in Cleveland, a handful of dancers paired up, twirling in front of the Chardon Polka Band performing outside of Gordon Green.
Dyngus Day may not have been met with the best weather, but it didn’t stop Clevelanders from showing up for the beloved Polish holiday, which lands annually on the Monday after Easter.
Traditionally held outdoors in Gordon Square with a parade, this year the official party landed at event venue Gordon Green, 5400 Detroit Ave., along with its outdoor parking lot space. Surrounding bars and restaurants, like Astoria Cafe across the street, also had Dyngus Day celebrations planned for Monday.
Dyngus Day Cleveland was planned at the venue with tickets to control crowd sizes due to formerly high coronavirus transmission rates, said founder DJ Kishka (aka Justin Gorski). He was wearing his trademark costume beard, along with a white hat and a sequined red jacket.
“The street’s the place to be, but making the decision six months ago, it wasn’t looking too good out there, so we decided to do this,” Gorski said. “When we had it in the street, we’d have weather like this, and there was nothing you could do – you just did it. This is what we would’ve done anyway. We make the best of it. We’ve been taught that through our whole lives living in Cleveland.”
(Photo by Annie Nickoloff, cleveland.com)
Gorski started hosting the Dyngus Day Cleveland festival more than a decade ago, and since then it’s grown to attract thousands of attendees every year. The coronavirus pandemic forced the festival to scale things back, with a virtual event in 2020 and a limited in-person event in 2021.
“This year we’re getting back to almost normal,” said event organizer Adam Roggenburk. “Gordon Square is the Dyngus Day headquarters and Gordon Green is the capital of it today. All these bars and restaurants down here today will be completely full.”
In Gordon Green’s outdoor space, attendees gathered under a tent to watch performances by Chardon Polka Band, the Don Wojtila Band and DJ Kishka throughout the day, and to stop by various food trucks and beer tents.
Inside, attendees warmed up as polka tunes filled the air. Polish flags hung from the ceiling, over rows of tables and chairs filled with partygoers. A few photo opportunities paid homage to Polish culture, and one honored Cleveland-style polka hero Frankie Yankovic’s 107th birthday.
Beer stations were serving up cans of Tyskie and Sibling Revelry’s Dyngus Day Piwo to attendees. Food tents offered pastries, sausages and more.
Kiedrowski’s Bakery joined the event for the first time this year, said owner Terri Kiedrowski. The Amherst bakery sold its famous cream-cheese filled snoogles, along with various flavors of paczki.
“We have been here as spectators, never as vendors,” she said. “We’re excited. I wish the weather would cooperate, but that’s okay, we’re inside so we’ll be good.”
Nearby, three past “Miss Dyngus Day” winners painted their nails red and white, the colors of Poland’s national flag.
Marlene Thompson (Miss Dyngus Day 2018), Erika Thompson (Miss Dyngus Day 2021) and Patricia Karabowicz (Miss Dyngus Day 2017). (Photo by Annie Nickoloff, cleveland.com)
“Once a dyngus, always a dyngus,” the three said in unison. “That’s our motto,” said Patricia Karabowicz, who was crowned Miss Dyngus Day in 2017.
Erika Thompson (Miss Dyngus Day 2021) and Marlene Thompson (Miss Dyngus Day 2018) said that the crown was a high honor in their family.
“My dad was literally crying when I won,” Marlene said. “He said, ‘This is the best day of my life. Even if you got married, I wouldn’t have been more proud.’”
“People get married every day,” Erika said. “There’s only a handful of people that can be Cleveland’s Miss Dyngus Day.”
(The 2022 Miss Dyngus Day will be crowned at 6 p.m. at the event.)
Plenty of cheer was in the air as lines to order beer grew longer in Dyngus Day’s early hours. The party continues until 8 p.m. on Monday.
As for next year? Expect the festival to return to its original neighborhood-wide outdoor parade format – but with a few possible expansions in mind, including multiple stages.
“A bigger footprint,” Gorski said. “Bigger and better.”
Find more details about Dyngus Day Cleveland at clevelanddyngus.com. This story will be updated with more photos of Dyngus Day 2022.
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