NSBNEWS.net photos by Henry Frederick and NSBNEWS.net video by Sera Frederick.
At left, Jeanette Humphrey, an organizer of the annual Slovenian National Benefit Society Polka Festival, shows homemade Klobase (sausage). In the video, people enjoy dancing to the polka music. More than a thousand people were expected by day's end Sunday over the course of the three-day event in Samsula at the SNPJ Lodge. Below, Kara Maruszak, 17, of Cleveland, International Miss SNBJ, was at the festival.
SAMSULA -- Kara Maruszak is the international face of the Slovenian National Benefit Society. The 17-year-old Cleveland girl lit up the dance hall at the annual Polka Festival celebrating the Slovenian heritage with food, music, dancing and great conversation.
Hundreds turned out Saturday at the SNBJ Lodge, 421 North Samsula Road, for the three-day festival that ends Sunday afternoon. Admission is $10 per person and food platters are as low as $6, including sausage and chicken salad sandwiches, salad, sliced fruit and desserts, all homemade.
But the real attraction for the predominantly Slovenian gathering, of course, is the Polka music and the dancing. With banjos, accordions, percussion and vocals, the temptation to get on the floor and dance is overwhelming.
And why not?
"It's always a good time," said Samsula resident Clay Benedict, one of the cooks, responsible for manning the sausage crock pots and the sauerkraut.
"There is plenty of food, dancing and drinking," he said. "It's always a good time. This is what it's all about."
People near and far joined together to celebrate their Slovenian roots. Betty and Ray Smith of of Gettysburg, Pa., up here from their winter residence in Okeechobee, were here to see longtime friends and the music. Ray also played sax with the Mark Bouchard Orchestra of Ormond Beach, which was there, along with Joe Novak & Friends of Cleveland, Ron Luznar and Polka Pals and other polka bands.
Besides music and dancing, the food was another big draw, and there was plenty of it, as listed by Jeanette Humphrey, a Samsula native of Slovenian descent: 200 pounds of Klobase (sausage), 90 pounds of apples for the strudel, 644 cabbage rolls, 1,059 Perogies, and the list goes on and on.
Humphrey, 67, was seemingly everywhere, making sure everything was organized after four days of cooking and food preparations at the lodge, built in 1926. This is the organization's main fundraiser with proceeds benefiting the lodge's upkeep.
And it wasn't just a Slovenian cause behind the scenes. Humphrey had help from the likes of Diana Heilman, a Samsulan of Welsh descent, who enjoyed the atmosphere: "Everyone is having such a great time."
Humphrey's mother, Georgia Thomazin, a native of Samsula and the last surviving sibling of 10 children, was enjoying the company of the teen, Maruszak, the Smiths and Ron and Fran Pasrozman of Pennsylvania.
For the 88-year-old Thomazin, the best part of the festival was summed up in one word: "Friends."
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NSBNEWS.net photos by Henry Frederick.
Above, Jeanette Humphrey and Diana Heilman, were among the organizers of the annual Samsula Polka Festival. At left, Humphrey's mother, Georgia Thormazin, is joined by Kara Maruszak, Ron Pasroman, Betty and Ray Smith, and Pasroman's wife, Fran.