Like the swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano in California every spring, polka lovers flock to Wildwood every summer for the annual Polka Spree by the Sea (polkaspree.com). This month the 31st annual gathering is scheduled for the 22nd through 25th at the Wildwoods Convention Center.
“It’s been very successful since we started,” says event organizer Bernie Goydish of Hillsborough, who has been playing and promoting polka music for 50 of his 66 years.
About a dozen mainly East Coast bands, including Tommy Thomas, the Polka Naturals, and Jolly Rich & the Polka Stars, will fill the convention center’s dance floor with the spirited music that originated in nineteenth-century Bohemia, featuring polka’s trademark accordions and horns. Hundreds of fans from California to Florida turn out for the spree, which offers 30 hours of concerts over the first three days.
The event wraps up with the popular Polka Mass on Sunday morning. “We get about 1,200 people in attendance,” Goydish says. “Polka music is an accompaniment to the liturgy.”