Iwona Erbe spent years telling her friend Aga Paschal that Southern Oregon needed a Polish festival — and that Paschal Winery would be the ideal place to host one.
When the first festival quickly sold out in 2025, Erbe said it confirmed her instincts. This year, the event returns with increased capacity, more food vendors and performances by regional musicians.
Music helps preserve cultural identity
Erbe will perform at the festival as a member of Zabavva, a Portland-based Polish rock and folk band whose name means "fun" in Polish. The group includes her husband, a conservatory-trained musician from Wisconsin, and their two adult children.
Erbe said the band began as a family project but expanded over time.
"Now we include other people, and we always encourage and invite young musicians from the Polish community to perform with us and promote Polish culture," she said.
Rogue Valley cellist Michal Palzewicz will also perform at this year's festival. He selected works by Polish composer Frédéric Chopin, often called the "poet of the piano."
Palzewicz said choosing music for a solo cello performance required some creativity because Chopin primarily composed for piano.
"When Aga asked me to perform, I started thinking about what I could play," he said. "There is a lot of modern music for solo cello, but Chopin was mostly a pianist. There is a cello sonata, so I'll perform an excerpt from that, and I was also able to find arrangements of some of his other pieces."
Food creates connections to home
Traditional dishes such as pierogi, borscht and pastries bring another dimension to comfort food, connecting people to their heritage while giving others a taste of another culture.
Paschal, who was born in Krakow and moved to Oregon in her 20s, said she has become increasingly nostalgic for the foods and traditions of her childhood.
"Now in my 50s, I'm starting to look back and get nostalgic," she said. "I miss the flavors and traditions I grew up with."
Festival attendees will have the chance to experience those traditions through food, music and community — elements organizers say are helping fill a cultural gap in Southern Oregon.
