St. Stanislaus Polish Festival: Details And Full Schedule

The annual event isn’t the only festival in the Wilmington area that’s worth checking out. We have all the best ones in our Guide To Festivals In Wilmington, NC. And (coincidentally) the frozen foods are shipped in from my county in Pennsylvania.

St. Stanislaus Polish Festival: Details And Full Schedule

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Each year, the St. Stanislaus Polish Festival is held on the grass next to the church. A huge tent with seating and a dance floor is set up near the road, then the grass between that tent and the makeshift parking lot are where the food tents are.

You can four main options when you’re purchasing food.

There’s the main food booth, which sells a dinner plate (a stuffed cabbage, three pierogis, one kielbasa, and sauerkraut). That’s $20 and there’s no substitutions allowed.

Then, there’s a tent with (my favorite) three potato pancakes for $5.

​Five flat top grills are set up under the tent while dziadeks (that’s Polish for grandpa, by the way) stand and cook as many as they can as quickly as they can. It’s a great operation.

A few years ago, it was pouring rain at the festival. And those grandpas didn’t flinch. The rain was coming in the tent, raining on their pancakes, and they still stood there flipping out as many as they could.

Another tent sells a half dozen pierogies for $8 and a final tent sells polish sausage dogs, with sauerkraut, onions, and peppers, for $10 each.

I do, however, know that the price of beer tickets is $5 a ticket.

You have a choice between Polish or domestic beer for that price. And, in fact, Front Street Brewery, the oldest brewery in Wilmington, brews the St. Stan’s Baltic Porter, the official beer of the St. Stan’s Polish Festival.

Just a quick note on that.

Pete got it to try it and it was a 12 oz. pour. The other beers were a full pint (16 oz.), so keep that in mind if you’re trying to maximize your money.

There’s a tented area near the beer that could be considered a beer garden, but you can just take your drink all over the festival.

Then, finishing the food, is the frozen food and baked goods set up in the church’s kitchen area.

This year, there were four types of pierogies (farmer’s cheese is my favorite, by the way), a 7-pound package of kielbasa, potato pancake batter (which doesn’t freeze well … ask me how I know), and Bozena‘s sauerkraut (which was made fresh that morning).

That’s on one side of the room. The opposite side is filled with a vast assortment of desserts and baked goods, like Polish cookies, cakes, nut rolls, and more.

But, the festival isn’t all food.

There’s live music, courtesy of a polka band that plays all day.

This year, it was the Harbour Towne Fest Band (a band that plays at all the Oktoberfest festivals in the Wilmington area, so you might be familiar with them).

The band is really good and actually has some undercover dancers in the crowd that will pull you up onto stage. Seriously. We’ve seen the band twice this year at festivals and both time, I’ve gotten pulled on stage — by different undercover dancers.

I like dancing and will never turn down the opportunity to boogie, so I had a good time dancing on that stage. But, if you’re not into that, just be on the lookout for those secret dancers.

There’s a huge area set up for kids with a bounce house and free games for kids.

And then, to round out the festival, there’s a vendor stand selling Polish imports and apparel, a raffle with cash prizes, and church tours. Everything is happening on November 2 from 11 am to 5 pm. Mass will follow at 7 pm at the church, giving the dozens of volunteers time to clean up from the festival. (Mass is usually held at 5 pm on Saturdays.)

So don’t miss it. If you do, you’ll have to wait a whole year to go.

St. Stanislaus Polish Festival: Frequently Asked Questions

Have you ever been to the St. Stanislaus Polish Festival? Let us know what you thought in the comments.