Arizona With Polka Power In January
- PostEagle
- February 5, 2014
- Uncategorized
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You can dance seven days a week in Mesa, Arizona. Mesa abuts Phoenix and is the polka mecca of the west during winter and spring when the snowbirds descend on the area. We made the trek to Arizona with Polka Power, who performed for four days at different venues arranged by Sue Flores, a long-time polka promoter in Arizona.
In photo: Joe Lengyel & gals in Mesa, Az.
On most Thursdays in the winter/spring season, the Lone Butte Casino in Chandler hosts an afternoon polka dance with no entry fee in the bar area. Polka Power performed on Thursday, January 16, to a good crowd. The bar area has a good size dance floor and stage. A waterfall separates the bar from the casino and amazingly blocks the noise as well.
On Friday, Polka Power performed at the Pulaski Club in Phoenix for a lively dance crowd. At one point I think that just about everyone was on the dance floor, including Mary Lou Kaye, who performs the polka on her popular instructional dance videos. The Pulaski is a bit more intimate with a low profile stage bringing the band closer to the dancers. A bar sits off to the side where club members hang out and watch the proceedings. The club provided a spectacular meal with sausages made by John Soltys, who did so for years at his deli in Chicago.
On Saturday and Sunday, Polka Power played at the Greenfield Resort in Mesa in the large community hall for several hundred folk. The hall has a terrific gymnasium size dance floor with great acoustics. We love coming to Arizona where we meet up with many of our Northern (Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio) friends, including Carl & Denise Perkovich who hosted a party for us Californians at their home in Scottsdale on Thursday evening.
There were many other events going on at the same time – too numerous to list. So if dancing is your thing, consider spending the winter in the Phoenix area.