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Kathleen Bittner wears a garland of amber around her collar like a regal monarch, and her light eyes peer out happily behind delicate black frames as she welcomes customers into her store. She’s the benevolent queen of her domain, the Polish Art Center, and knows her kingdom well. Point to an object, and she’ll tell you the folk history, from which part of Poland it originates, and how it works. As Bittner watches her customers poke around the food section of her store, she doesn’t hesitate to call merrily, “Try one! They’re on my counter! You can try one, they’re delicious. It’s apricot marmalade. It’s really, really good.”

We got to the boat launch at Victoria Creek Community Park in Cedar and put in, and I settled back for a lazy ride down the slow-moving waterway, eagerly anticipating the flash of a kingfisher or a glimpse of a turtle sunning itself on a log. But as we began to move downstream, it was neither of those that grabbed my attention, but the melodious sound of polka music.

The woman behind the free dance lessons at Polka Fest in Cedar, Michigan, is Beverly Jane (“BJ”) Christensen, a feisty woman with piercing blue eyes. In 2001, Christensen founded the Cedar Area Community Foundation, an organization that offers free, fun activities for all ages year round, from service events like outdoor clean ups and CPR classes to self-improvement activities such as walking groups and aerobics. Also on the calendar are kayak trips down the Victoria River, ice cream socials, crafting events and holiday parties—as well as the Polka Fest fun.