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Welcome to the National Polka Festival in Ennis, Texas.  Our “Polka Weekend” was a BLAST. The hotel was an adventure in and of itself. First of all, it’s an incredibly charming, but very small town. Your hotel choices span between La Quinta Inn and Motel 8. We were turned away from La Quinta.  The nasty little man at the front desk tried overcharging us for the last room available – when we called him on it, he just shrugged his shoulders and said  “It’s polka weekend.”  Of course, that explains everything.  SO we ended up at the Quality Inn, which happened to be next to the Waffle House – really, it was meant to be.

Rhinestone Cowboy.  Yeah, he’s cool.

Oh yeah, we totally fit in with the polka crowd. Ali’s cowboy shirt and my 80′s prom dress just scream “polkamania.”  Really, we thought so. We get to the bar, grab our Czech beers, and hear: “Y’all aren’t from around here, are you?”  It was the Polka Festival’s director and his family.  He came up to us, introduced himself, and told us all about the history of the festival.  Awesome.

In the course of the evening, we got a lot of “New York City!” exclamations (yep, just like the salsa commercial). Despite our being Yankees, everybody was super-friendly and welcoming – in part, I suspect, because Ali was carrying his big camera and they thought he was Press. Either way we made a lot of friends and we had a blast.

Polka Dance Revolution! Don’t let this white-haired duo fool you….when we walked into the building behind them, it was like walking behind a couple of well, old people.  But when the polka music starts – WATCH OUT! – they’re sprightly as all get-out.  I’m talking lean-mean-moving-machines.  They kicked our polka-butts.  This couple was, in our opinion, the BEST in the Polka King and Queen dance competition and they should have won.  But the crowns went to a young couple from Ennis who were, I suppose,the favorites.  It was quite a competition. We’re thinking of taking lessons so we can enter next year.  Seriously – I want to WIN!

Of course, we owe our entire night to THE BAND. They call themselves Fritz Hodde & the Fabulous Six - although it was just the Fabulous Five the night we saw them.  They were fantastic!