The sound of joyous polka and the smell of kielbasa filled the air on Franklin Street as Norwich celebrated Polish Fest.

The organizer of the event, who goes by the single name Suki, believes that the festival helps bring attention to the cultural melting pot of Norwich.

"Norwich has been a diverse city since its founding," Suki said. "Anybody who has an idea to support their culture, we want to help support it. Two (that) we are working to make happen right now is a Puerto Rican festival and a Dutch festival. I think the more inclusive we can be as a city, the better off we will be. If you have a downtown that is thriving with festivals and activity, you have a thriving city."

Festival-goers danced along to polka music, took in traditional Polish folk dancing and waited in a line that stretched down the road for fresh Polish kielbasa, pierogi and potato pancakes prepared by a local parish, the Divine Providence Church.

"People, from childhood, remember good, freshly made food," the Rev. Christopher Rogalski said. "People want our good food, and the festival is good for that. We (make this food) every week at our parish, and hopefully people who enjoy the food stop by on Sundays and get some." 

Jolanta Biedron participated in the festival by helping put on a traditional showing of Polish dancing. She does it to teach her kids their heritage and culture.

"I am Polish, and I have my kids here," she said. "I want to continue Polish tradition. If you don't do that, it dies. This festival helps Polish people celebrate our culture and show it to people of other nations."

The festival is the fourth of seven cultural festivals organized by Global City Norwich, a nonprofit founded in 2018 and funded by the Norwich Community Development Corporation. Global City Norwich's goal is to revitalize downtown Norwich with multicultural events and festivals open to the public. The next festival is the Peruvian Cultural Festival on July 28. The festivals are part of a larger effort to celebrate the multiple cultures of Norwich.

Local artist Faith Satterfield has been at every festival with a booth. She is working on a mural that members of the community have helped paint.

"Norwich is the Rose of New England, so each nation represented at a festival this year will have their national flower on the mural," Satterfield said. "It will be painted by the community for the community. It's a mobile piece of public art that I hope will make an impact on the culture of the community as well as involve the community."

Zechariah Stover is a local resident and a volunteer that helps put on the festivals. He thinks the festivals are important in bringing together a community.

"I really enjoy all the cultural festivals downtown," Stover said. "They really draw neighbors together. Everyone gets together, eats together and enjoys some music and dancing together. It's a really good way to celebrate who we are."