City of Silver Lake - The McLeod County Chronicle

2013-2014 Silver Lake Guide BookPola-Czesky Days in Silver Lake13Silver Lake is known forits wealth of activities, fromSt. Patrick’s Day parades,bean bag tournaments, andice golf tournament to DairyDay, “Rock ‘n’ Roll”wrestling, and Music in thePark.But the city is most famousfor its annual towncelebration, Pola-CzeskyDays, a three-day event celebratingthe community’srich Polish and Czechoslovakianroots.The history of the celebrationis a bit foggy —some sources date the beginningof the celebration to1969, and in other instances,some indicate that the eventstarted in 1975, and that wasthe year the celebration was“revived.”That year, churches andorganizations throughoutthe town received lettersasking for representatives tocreate a planning committee.A three-day format waschosen, with a Fridayevening introduction to thecelebration, the crowning ofthe royalty on Saturday, anda grand parade on Sunday.Since, the schedule haschanged a bit, but still maintainsmuch tradition.Today, the event stillkicks off on a Fridayevening, with toilet bowlraces and lip sync contests,and on Saturday, the day isfilled with a “kiddie parade,”“kiddie” games, aflea market, tractor pull,street dance, and Queen’sBall.On Sunday, the big daystarts with the grand paradeat 1 p.m. along Main Street,and after the parade, theroyalty are crowned, with astreet dance to follow.Pola-Czeksy Days buttonshave been sold everyyear since 1976, becoming acollector item for many.Other activities to Pola-Czesky Days include aPolka Mass, softball andkickball tournaments, carshows, and history “roundtable”discussions.There is also a variety offood sold at the celebration,including pork chops, chicken,hamburgers with friedonions, hot dogs, cheesecurds, malts, mini donuts,and more.The Pola-Czesky celebrationruns the first full weekendin August every year.The Pola-Czesky queen pageant is one of the highlightsof the annual community celebration. The 2012royalty included, from left, front row, Junior King AlexOestreich and Junior Princess Emily Larsen, in back,Miss Congeniality and Princess Chrissy Helmbrechtand Queen Kayla Schermann.Pedal tractor pullGrand paradeGames for kids