by Ana O'Reilly

Created on: December 09, 2009

Roncesvalles Village, also known as Toronto’s Little Poland, has a weekend-long festival every year in September to celebrate all things Polish. The organizers block Roncesvalles Avenue to the traffic, vendors and non-profit organizations set up their stalls and people walk up and down the street enjoying a fun-filled day out. Some people even wore traditional Polish costumes.

My hubby and I decided to see what it was all about. We got there early, at about 2 pm, and thankfully there weren’t too many people. We walked for a bit immersing ourselves in the jolly atmosphere.

We went past stalls set up by the Polish Students’ Associations at York and Ryerson universities. Most of the signs were in Polish so I’m not sure what they were doing there but I definitely saw books for sale (in Polish, of course). A Polish Catholic group also had a stand decorated with photos of the late Pope John Paul II. His portrait was everywhere, which is understandable as he was from Poland. The Knights of Columbus also were out in full force with their red and black capes and plumes. Alongside the non-profit organizations, there were different kinds of vendors ranging from a disc jockey to fortune tellers to bouncy castles for children. There was something for every age.

As to the food on offer, it was mainly Polish. Grilled fat pork sausages (kolbasa) with pickles and other toppings were available every few feet. We weren’t lucky with ours, they weren’t very tasty and as we progressed along the street we saw and smelled some that seemed much better but we were full already, which was a pity. Other cuisines were represented too: Mexican tacos, American style barbecued ribs, Malaysian murtabak. I was tempted by the churro stall. Mine had dulce de leche on it, but I’m afraid it was rather disappointing; it wasn’t as good as I expected and not sweet enough.

We were lucky enough to catch most of the opening ceremony, and although the main speech was in Polish, it was followed by a shorter English version. A while later, also on the main stage, a group of traditional Polish folk dancers were... well, dancing traditional Polish dances. Polka anyone? We saw (and listened to) a blues band, a brass band and Bolivian musicians playing the quena flute and Andean panpipes. Not exactly Polish, but it contributed to the festive atmosphere.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience I’m willing to repeat.

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