22-04-2025
Nostrovia! Erie's Polish community celebrates Dyngus Day
Easter may be over, but Erie's Polish community continued the celebration for one more day.
Dyngus Day is always the Monday after Easter, and on Monday, the Erie community took the day to celebrate their Polish heritage.
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Dyngus Day draws tens of thousands to the streets of Buffalo, New York, every year. And on Monday, Erie's Polish community gathered for a celebration of their own.
The holiday has been celebrated in Poland for hundreds of years, but Polish-Americans have since taken it under their wing.
'It has kind of a two-fold to it. It's the celebration of Lent being over and the fasting being done, celebrating that, and it's also a big holiday in poland where the boys kind of chase the girls and they take the pussy willows and swat at the back of their legs to kind of tease them a little bit,' said Maria Wawrzyniak, secretary of Polish Falcons Nest 610
The Polish Falcons Club on East 3rd Street held its 28th annual Dyngus Day celebration on Monday, with hundreds of people showing up in red shirts to celebrate their Polish heritage.
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Those celebrating ate traditional Polish cuisine, caught up with old friends, and danced the polka as a live band kept the energy going.
The good people here at the Polish Falcons Club gave us a little free sample to try; we got pierogies, some Polish sausage, that authentic Polish cuisine, but if you were looking for something to drink instead, this wasn't the only place around town that's celebrating Dyngus Day.
Nostrovia Brewing on East Lake Road opened its doors early in the week to celebrate Dyngus Day, and the owner said the weather has held up for a successful holiday.
'It's been fantastic. The tables have been filling up, people have been celebrating, and a lot of cabbage rolls and a lot of kielbasa, a lot of good times, great music in the background.' 'We probably increased our food demand by about 6 to 10 times on a day like today,' said Jeff Lukasik, owner & brewer at Nostrovia Brewing Company.
Lukasik said they're also releasing a new beer with the holiday called the 'Polonia Pale,' which is made from hops straight from Poland.
And like it said in the brewery's name, those celebrating raised their glasses with a loud 'nostrovia,' which means 'cheers and to your health' in Polish.
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Next up, the Polish community will be getting ready for their Polish Zabawa Festival coming up in August.
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