The Denver Kicker’s soccer club joined the Polka Club on August 13, 2006 for a fun Sunday of polka dancing, games, good food and friendship. This event went from noon to eight with non-stop dancing to Steve Rock until four and then to Dick Zavodny’s band until eight. There were games for the children along with face painting for the kids and some brave adults. Hal and Jean Mund danced non-stop to every number from noon to the last song at eight. Dick always brings out the best in entertainment and music. The old world sound thrives when he plays the button box accordion. We enjoyed double button box fun when Emal Krikat stepped on stage from the audience, put on his button box and joined the Zavodny band for a few Polkas. You can hear Dick spin polka and waltz tunes every Sunday from noon to four on 1570 am radio. It’s a delight and prepares you for a fun afternoon at the Polka Club.
Earlier in the summer I stopped to talk with Pete Marta one sultry Sunday when temperatures crept into the high nineties. The Rinelanders were playing great music with Roberta’s clear trumpet melodically inspiring tapping feet to get up and dance around the floor.
June and Pete Marta had just returned from their leisurely ride in July up to Minnesota to enjoy the drive through our great county and participate in a couple of large polka festivals. They stopped off in Ellsworth, Wisconsin to join the dancing with 12 bands over a week end. The next four-day weekend they danced to their hearts’ content to all 40 bands at the Big Joe Polka festival in Medina, Minnesota. Pete said all the bands were exceptionally good this year. He found out the bands were not paid for their performance. One band said that was the best investment in their future they could make. They increased their bookings by doing five times as much business in one year as they had done in the past five years. Pete said there were over 2,500 people participating. The dance floor was about twice as big as the Kicker’s Club and filled with excited, friendly people who love to polka and waltz.
It seems a daunting task to dance to every band, but Pete and June took on the challenge. There is a 10 minute break between bands each hour when the bands switch. With good music, its fun and every band brings a new interpretation to the old favorites as well as dusting off some old lesser known numbers.
I stumbled across the Big Joe Polka Show on RFD TV, 9409 if you have Dish satellite. We watch the show once a week or so and noticed the happy smiling faces of June and Pete dancing swiftly by the cameras. June was seen over several shows always in a different outfit. I confirmed with her that she had changed clothes several times a day to freshen up and add to the excitement.
Quick stepping Audrey Jurgens can also be seen on the Big Joe show dancing her peppy steps. She told me not long ago that her grandkids are so excited to watch her on the Big Joe show that she feels like a celebrity. Big Joe’s tag line is “Happy Music for Happy People” which pretty much covers how polka music makes you feel.
Wes and Ruth Loftessness occasionally take a jaunt up to Greeley to the Ebony Center to hear some local bands. They both recently celebrated their milestone 80th birthdays just 23 days apart, Ruth on June 13th and Wes on July 9th. They have been dancing all over the mid-west from Wichita, Kansas to Mitchell, South Dakota for over 60 years. Wes and Ruth can be seen dancing the waltzes and two steps. With Ruth’s knee replacements, she leaves Wes to the dance lively Polka’s with whoever can keep up with him.