Community Corner

For Polish Town Fair Director, Festival a Family Affair

Generations of Director Darlene Folkes' family have volunteered at the fair.

To Polish Town Festival Director Darlene Folkes, the annual celebration is much more than a show of patriotism and heritage: it's a family tradition.

Folkes and her family, from her mother to cousins and children, have been volunteering at the Polish Town Fair for decades. And while they've seen the festival expand, the most important thing is to bring the family together.

"You can't get [them] to come to a family reunion," Folkes joked from under a Polish Town Civic Association tent at the 37th annual fair. "This is one of the highlights of our summer."

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Folkes family first became involved with the fair 30 years ago, when her mother and lifelong Riverhead resident Fran Alec volunteered to help sell kielbasa at one of the Polish Town Civic Association Booths.

From there, Alec became more involved and eventually served as president of the fair twice.

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Alec said she's seen the festival grow from a few shops to over 325 vendors that draw in thousands of visitors.

"It started with them selling jewelry on that corner in 1973," she said, pointing down the road past the crowd. "Before you know it, it's getting bigger and bigger."

Alec recalled wearing costumes for the Polish wedding recreation in the blazing summer heat and dancing the polka under the pavilion years ago. She said her mother taught her how to dance, but Alec regretted never passing the traditional dance to her own daughters.

"My daughter, I never taught her to do the polka," she said. "It's getting lost."

Folkes admitted some of the old traditions were being lost on the newest generations, but said the new festival offers so much more.

"We still have our Polish roots, but its become so diversified," Folkes said. "There's such diverse merchandise and food from every country."

Sheila Naugles-Tradeski, Folkes' cousin and the first Polish Town Fair queen back in 1976, agreed. Naugles-Tradeski is still volunteering to run a booth and help promote the customs that remain.

"The main thing is to keep our traditions going," she said.


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