It’s the last Polkafest ever on the Iron Range! I can’t believe I forgot to post this yesterday.
Today is the headline day for Polkafest at Ironworld in Chisholm. The Iron Range has hosted Polkafest since the 1980s, but this year it was announced that the event would be moving to Carlton next year.
Polka and the Iron Range have enjoyed a long relationship, but as the fan base has aged it’s been harder to get people to drive up north to attend. So today brings a bittersweet celebration of a long tradition that is slowly fading away. If you’re looking for a classic Range experience, drive out to Chisholm and check this out. If you’re a single lady who likes older, vaguely ethnic men, you will have your pick of dance partners.
By the by, the headline is a throwback to one I actually wrote for the Hibbing Daily Tribune in 2002 based on my interpretation of how polka songs sound. The headline was widely misunderstood, but it remains one of my favorites. OOM PA PA, indeed!
Good Lord.