06-04-2025
'Polka's a fantastic dance': Hundreds attend Pennsylvania PolkaFest
Apr. 5—Promoter Joe Nardone smiled with satisfaction Saturday afternoon as his gaze took in the hundreds of people gathered in the Keystone Ballroom at Mohegan PA for Pennsylvania PolkaFest 2025.
"It's a great crowd," he said.
"But," a clueless reporter asked him, "Why isn't anybody dancing?"
"They'll dance when Jimmy Sturr starts playing," Nardone said, explaining that Polka Bandski, which served as opening act, was playing the kind of polka music you listen to rather than dance to.
Sure enough, when Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra took the stage moments later, two dance floors filled to overflowing with couples fairly flying across the floor.
"Polka's a fantastic dance," said Sandra Rowlands of Dallas, who came to the PolkaFest with her husband, Richard, and four other friends.
Indeed, there seem to be many fantastic varieties — as dancers twirled and skipped and circled the floor.
On their feet they wore sported everything from high-heeled boots to two-toned spectator shoes to glittery sneakers.
On their heads they wore anything from baseball caps to a woven wreath that added a touch of Eastern European flair.
Polka fans of all ages were there, including Kimberly and Michael Shambora of Laflin, who have been dancing for 15 years and are related on Michael's side of the family to Joe and John Stanky, of local polka fame.
Perhaps the youngest in the crowd were 17-month-old twins, Elizabeth and Andrew Gallas, whose parents, Jean and John Gallas of Lancaster, wanted to show them a bit of their paternal grandmother's heritage.
As the evening progressed, Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra, the Family Band and Polka Bandski were each to play two sets. The event was arranged by Joe Nardone, Thom Greco and Jim Della Croce, and sponsored by Mrs. T's Pierogies and the Times Leader.
