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Preparing for a party
'Everyone's Polish on Dyngus Day,' proclaims a local song, and Cheektowaga offers some of the area's best celebrations
By John J. Hopkins Times
 | | NAZDROWIE! (CHEERS!)... Polish beer will be one of the popular orders of the day at area Dyngus Day celebrations, as Joycee Landwehr and Jeremy Buczynski demonstrated last year. (Times file photo) |
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One of the area's most popular days on the calendar arrives Monday when Dyngus Day, the day after Easter, is celebrated throughout the Buffalo area, and Cheektowaga again has several locations hosting festivities.
Men will aim their squirt guns at women who will playfully respond by striking the men with pussy willows, the piwo (Polish for beer) will flow, and traditional polkas will inspire thousands to hit the dance floors.
Dyngus Day, a largely Polish- American celebration, is a mix of culture, heritage and traditions and celebrates the end of Lent along with the renewal and joy of Easter.
One local event organizer compares Dyngus Day to another popular day that precedes Lent.
"It's like Mardi Gras," said Jackie Schmid, who helps organize the annual celebration at the Pvt. Leonard Post Jr. VFW Post. "It's a time to let loose."
 | | WHITHER WILLOWS?... Pussy willows play an important role in Dyngus Day traditions, but cold weather may affect this year's crop. These women probably hope that there is no dearth of the plant this year. (Times file photo) |
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Judge Ann Mikoll of the Chopin Singing Society agrees, noting that Dyngus Day is not a religious holiday.
"It's a social get-together that's based on a long-standing tradition over the centuries," Mikoll added.
The day has become so popular in the area that it inspired Jerry Darlak and the Buffalo Touch to record a song, "Everybody's Polish on Dyngus Day," that immediately became a local hit. One of the lead singers for the Touch, Ray Barsukiewicz, is credited with penning the lyrics.
A Cheektowaga resident and twotime Grammy nominee, Darlak will perform with the Touch Monday at two town locations, Lily of the Valley Banquet Facility and Polish Villa II.
Today's Dyngus Day revelers have Judge Mikoll, her late husband Theodore, his brother and the Chopin Singing Society to thank for the popularity of local celebrations.
The society began hosting the event in its Kosciuszko Street ballroom in Buffalo in 1961, earning the distinction as the originator of local Dyngus Day celebrations.
Its celebrations- still one of the largest in the area- have been held for the past several years at Depew's Hearthstone Manor, 333 Dick Road.
Mikoll told the Times that attendance is expected to be around 2,000, which is an average crowd for the society's annual event.
The Chopin Choir will perform with Ontario's White Eagle Dancers at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Mikoll said the floor show is a musical interpretation about a part of the Dyngus Day tradition of greeting people with bread and salt.
"It's very cheering to know that people find it an endearing tradition," said Mikoll. "It's helpful for young people, in a fun theme, to understand a little bit about their cultural background and history."
Father David Bialkowski of St. John Gualbert Church will help kick off the society's celebration at noon Monday with the annual blessing of the food.
Another popular destination for Dyngus Day celebrants is the Leonard Post, which offers two days of events, beginning with the "official kickoff party" for Dyngus Day on Easter Sunday.
The Easter Sunday event includes the second annual "Blessing of the Instruments" at 7 p.m. by Father Bialkowski.
"Any musician is welcome to come and bring whatever instrument he plays," said Schmid. "It was a nice touch last year."
Schmid expects up to 1,500 patrons during Monday's six-hour party at the Leonard Post. Proceeds from the party, which was held at Randolph Hall until 2003 when the building was demolished, go to the post.
"The event has gotten better since we've moved," Schmid said. "There wasn't a lot of parking at Randolph, and there's a big lot at the Walden Avenue location."
Dyngus Day attracts more than just a local following. Celebrants have been known to arrive by limousine and bus. Others have come from as far as California.
Schmid said that she recently spoke to two people who are driving from Pittsburgh for this year's festivities.
Other Dyngus Day celebrations are set for R Bar & Grill, 2139 Broadway, Sloan, beginning at 1 p.m., and at IV Stallions Lounge, 2912 William Street, beginning at 4 p.m.
Some celebrations are larger than others. Location, for some people, is important.
"Being around the corner from the Hearthstone and Chopin doesn't hurt," Schmid said of the Leonard Post's bash. "People tend to go back and forth between the two because it's not a far drive."
For others, entertainment helps them decide where to go for a couple of "piwos."
At the Leonard Post, local band Phocus will trade off sets with Lenny Gomulka and Chicago Push.
Polka bands Rare Vintage, CitySide and the Knewz will perform at the Hearthstone.
"Our entertainment has grown to be top of the line," said Mikoll. "The White Eagles are fantastic."
Admission ranges from $7-12 at Cheektowaga venues. Most sites in Buffalo are charging between $10- 15.
One of the most popular traditions associated with Dyngus Day- females playfully tapping males with pussy willows- may not be as noticeable this year because of its early arrival, the earliest Easter in 95 years.
Pussy willows don't begin to bloom until the spring, and the cold weather may prevent buds from opening. Some local organizers are having pussy willows delivered from southern states.
"We have friends with the plants on their property," Schmid said. "They let us cut them down every year. A lot of times we'll go to the Broadway Market and purchase what they have left."
According to the Gregorian calendar, Easter Sunday won't fall as early as March 23 again until the year 2228.
A Dyngus Day parade takes place in Buffalo, beginning at 5 p.m. from the Broadway Market and travels to the old Central Terminal.
There are many facts and myths about Dyngus Day, including how it originated. The Web site DyngusDayBuffalo.com, offers a few explanations on the origins of the Easter Monday celebration.
The custom of pouring water is an ancient spring rite of cleansing, purification, and fertility. The same is true of the complimentary practice of switching with pussy willow branches.
The Web site also notes that since 966 A.D., Dyngus Day has been associated with the baptism of Prince Mieszko I. Tradition states that the prince, along with his court, were baptized on Easter Monday.
Thus, Dyngus Day and its rites of sprinkling with water have become a folk celebration of thanks because the first king of Poland was baptized into Christianity, bringing Catholicism to Poland.
Curiously, Dyngus Day does not pack the same wallop in Poland as it does in the Buffalo area, which is considered the largest celebration of the event in the world. Smaller observances are held in Chicago; Pittsburgh; South Bend, Indiana and Elizabeth, New Jersey.
"It's sort of taken on a life of its own," Schmid observed.
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