WILMINGTON – After canceling the annual Polish Festival, St. Hedwig Parish in Wilmington has teamed up with the Wilmington and Western Railroad to create a alternate event. The Red Clay Valley Sommerfest will be held July 18-20 at Greenbank Station, 2201 Newport Gap Pike, near the intersection of Kirkwood Highway and Route 41.
“Attendees to Sommerfest can expect to sample a bit of the Wilmington and Western Railroad experience and a bit of the Polish Festival,” the festival committee said in an email.
Sommerfest will include Polish Festival favorites such as pierogis, golabki and kielbasa prepared by Appleton Catering. There will be live polka music, along with Polish beer and baked goods. The Wilmington and Western will offer journeys on its vintage train through the Red Clay Valley. There will not be amusement rides.
The event runs from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Admission is $5 and is free for children ages 5 and under. More information is available at RCVSommerfest.com.
The Polish Festival would have celebrated its 63rd year in 2019. It was canceled because access to land on the Wilmington riverfront where it was held was reduced because of construction. It had been held on the riverfront since 2006.
Ed Lipka, a member of the festival committee, told The Dialog in May that the city would like the Polish Festival to return at some point. Construction on a bridge and roads on the riverfront is expected to continue through the fall of 2020.
