Moments after the polka music sprang to life Saturday night at Germanfest, so did some dancers.
“It’s in the spirit, it’s uplifting,” the Rev. Tim Haberkorn, of Sacred Heart-St. Joseph Parish, said of the polka music. “It reminds us of home and traditions.”
Polka is a music native to Germany, Poland and a number of other European countries.
“It’s a happy music,” said Joey Dahlhausen, drummer in the Chardon Polka Band. “A lot of polka songs are about beer, and people like beer.” Those songs include “In Heaven There Is No Beer” and “Roll Out the Barrel.”
Another favorite is “Who Stole the Kishka?” Kishka is Polish sausage.
Polka has “a fun twist to it,” said Emily Kouwe, who plays saxophone and flute in the Chardon Polka Band.
The band plays traditional polka songs; some swing songs, such as “Johnny B. Goode” and “If the House Is Rockin.’ ” The Chardon Polka Band also plays “polka punk twist.”
“It’s a lot of fun,” Kouwe said of the polka punk twist. “These guys know how to make it relatable to all ages.”
The bank also plays songs it writes, including “You Can’t Drink Beer in Outer Space.”
“We never play a set list of songs,” Kouwe said.
The Chardon Polka Band is the first out-of-state polka band to perform at the Germanfest, Haberkorn said. It performs about 200 shows a year.
“We do a lot of traveling and a lot of shows at home in Cleveland, Ohio,” Dahlhausen said.
Other performance sites are Arizona, Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky and Canada.
Chardon Polka Band also will perform a three-hour gig starting at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Germanfest.
Germanfest was well-attended Saturday. The festival began about 40 years ago as a parish event, Haberkorn said.
“Now it’s a community-wide event for all of Topeka,” he said.
The parish prepares more German food each year to feed festivalgoers, Haberkorn said. Proceeds raised from Germanfest benefit the church and Holy Family Catholic Grade School.