Posen?s festival numbers solid across the board
by Peter Jakey– Managing Editor
Posen sent out the invitation, “Zapraszamy wasna Karoflanne Urodzystosc.” And they did come to the Potato Festival by the thousands. Even with Michigan’s tough economy, people couldn’t stay away. According to Posen Chamber of Commerce president Randy Idalski the numbers were solid across the board. Many events, including Sunday’s grand festival parade, which was guestimated at 25,000 people, were on par with previous years, with the exception of a few areas.
A 10-minute rain shower in the middle of the parade was the only blemish in the weather during a relatively nice weather weekend. The rain had an impact on Sunday’s carnival, but Schmidt Amusements was reporting “okay” numbers,? said Idalski. “Once the rain stopped, it was beautiful.?
Miss Posen Bonnie Schmitz and the nine members of her court smiled while doing their waves on an award-winning float. Also taking part in Sunday afternoon’s festivities were honored citizens Raymond and Blanche Meyers. From locals to weekend visitors, there were tons of people taking in many events, meals and music. Saturday seemed to be the most hopping day.
IF THERE was a theme from the weekend, it was people brought appetites to Posnania. While cars were down by one at the bump and run, the crowd wasn’t, and they were hungry. The food booth operated by the 2009 Posen High School trip club ran out of items and someone was sent on a ?go fetch more supplies? trip to Alpena. The club’s booth on Michigan Avenue also did well. The Rosary Sodality?s pancake smorgasbord fed 1,292 meals to adults and 60 to children 5 and under, which was up compared to last year. Penny Seiler said they did extremely well, and only ran out of pancakes in the last 15 minutes. The Knights of Columbus (K of C) experienced the largest spike of any organization as they served 200 more meals than last year to end with 725 breakfasts served.
K of C member John Kroll said the food stands at the polka and green pavilions “did well, if not better than last year.” On Sunday, they opened the food stand at the green pavilion for three-and-a-half hours when folks watching ?The Douglas Family? from Alpena, started hearing their stomachs rumble.
THE VETERANS of Foreign Wars (VFW) lunch/dinner Saturday was down ever so slightly at 600, but breakfast the next morning was up to 550. The Presque Isle County Council on Aging was down to 544 meals and didn?t sell out for the first time in many years. The campground was nearly sold out in ’07, but was down by about 24 this year. At the fire/village hall, town president Marilyn K
And in the closing hours of the weekend Sunday night, the Kielbasa Kings and ?Pan? Franek and Zosia put on an extended show. After packing away their instruments, they got some of them out again and played more music in the crowd. As stated earlier, people can?t stay away from Posen, or bring themselves to leave.