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Musicians and Dancers to Perform at Polish Night at Comerica Park

Raymond Rolak May 20, 2016

It will be the 46th annual Polish-American Night at Comerica Park and the dance ensembles and musicians will perform with other Polish-American organizations before the game. The Tigers take on the Tampa Bay Rays at 7:05 p.m.

Pregame, there will be spontaneous polka dancing and music outside the stadium. On the stadium concourse Polish music will be performed by, The Big Daddy Orchestra, The Kielbasa Kings, The Steve Drzewicki Band, the Natural Tones and accordion music from John Orischak. The main show will have Polish dance ensembles from all over Metropolitan Detroit that will be performing on the field. All this takes place before the Detroit Tiger’s game Friday, May 20, 2016 versus the Tampa Bay Rays.

No one does it better than the Detroit Polish community and the Detroit Tigers Baseball Club. The event has been a highlight of the Detroit Tiger’s schedule. Ethnic heritage celebrations have become popular at Major League Baseball as pregame events.

“We even want our Polish-Canadian friends to come over the Detroit River and enjoy the evening. We will have music, dancing and four polka bands before the game,” said longtime coordinator, Wally Ozog.” Ozog is a retired official from the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America headquartered in Chicago.

Ozog continued, “We get all the sponsors of the dance troupes, the Polish National Alliance, the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America and the Polish Women’s Alliance of America and put on a wonderful show. Everyone is Polish that evening. We expect another full house. There will be four Polka bands outside of the stadium."

Ted Klamerus will be representing the PRCUA and his association with the game goes back a long time. Said Klamerus, “This is much nicer here at Comerica Park because of the scoreboard. At Tiger Stadium you couldn’t see all the dancers. Here, you can.”

“We have added a few more groups this year,” said pregame emcee, Christopher Ozog. The Wayne State University Polish Heritage Club and the Friends of Polish Art will be represented this year on the field. The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame will have a display on the concourse near the rightfield foul pole. There is also a special collector’s tee-shirt available that day.

The NPASHF will be having their induction banquet June 23, 2016 at the American Polish Cultural Center in Troy, Michigan. One of this year’s honored inductees will be Ann Meyers-Drysdale. She is the widow of Dodger great Don Drysdale, who died in July of 1993. He was elected to the National Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame in 1984.

A standout basketball player, Meyers-Drysdale was the first woman signed to a four-year athletic scholarship at UCLA. She was the first player, male or female to be named an All-America in four straight seasons. Meyers-Drysdale played on the first women’s Olympic team in 1976. She was the first person drafted by the Women’s Basketball League in 1978 and was named Co-MVP in 1980. Meyers Drysdale was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame previously.

One of the featured dance troupes will be the PNA-Plymouth Centennial Dancers. “It is a very colorful evening and it gives the youngest members some experience on the big stage,” said Barb Martin. She directs the dance ensemble and they are choreographed by Cathy Michalak. “Our goal is to promote Polish heritage and culture through music and dance,” added Martin.

The PNA-Plymouth Centennial Dancers conducts, The Polish Kitchen, at the Plymouth Fall Festival every year as a fund raiser. They dance in Fourth of July and Labor Day parades in Plymouth, Livonia, Northville and Hamtramck.

“Come early,” Wally Ozog said further. “Enjoy the culture, music, and dancing. It will be a full house. Plan for the Woodward Avenue construction of the M-1 rail project.” Ticket prices range from $22.00-$45.00 and the gates open at 5:30 p.m. For more information or tickets to the Detroit Tigers game at Comerica contact 586-751-8168 or 586-524-4907.

Featured performers at the 46th annual Polish-American Night at Comerica Park