Wilmington's Polish Festival canceled due to Riverfront construction

St. Hedwig’s Polish Festival, held annually at the Wilmington Riverfront, will not take place this year, the parish has announced on its website. 

The festival is typically held for six days in September in the parking lots north of Frawley Stadium. There is authentic Polish food, live music, dancing, carnival rides and more.

The event benefits St. Hedwig Church on Harrison Street. 

But the parish said online that due to construction and redevelopment along the Riverfront, it will not be able to hold the festival as planned.  

"For now, the Festival Committee will continue to meet and will be working on developing some smaller events," it said online. 

The committee did not immediately respond to calls and email. It is unclear if this is a one-year hiatus or if next year's festival is also in jeopardy. 

The Buccini/Pollin Group is constructing a Homewood Suites hotel on Justison Street this summer, next to a Hyatt Place being built by the ONIX Group. 

There is also a 470-foot-long bridge being constructed over the Christina River, linking the redeveloped and booming Riverfront with Wilmington’s Southbridge, a neighborhood with poorly maintained streets and a depressed economy.

State officials have said that the infrastructure should nudge economic prosperity across the river. Streets on both side of the river, including those near Frawley Stadium, will also be upgraded, according to DelDOT. 

Bridge and road construction is expected to continue through fall 2020. 

Joe McDonald, executive director of Delaware Stadium Corp., which owns Frawley Stadium and rents out the parking lot, said it's been crazy at the stadium because of all the construction. 

“DelDOT’s been working very hard, so our space is pretty limited and it’s a shame, because it’s a great festival," he said. "We love it." 

He said the stadium also has a contract with the Riverfront Development Corporation, which parks cars there and owns adjoining land. Pettinaro Management also has parking lots near the stadium, and McDonald said the Delaware Department of Transportation is storing equipment there, which limits the amount of overflow parking. 

That means you'll have to go somewhere else for your chrusciki, or Polish angel wing cookies, this year. 

Making chrusciki for St. Hedwig's annual Polish Festival is a time-honored tradition. For more than six decades, a group of volunteers has gathered at St. Hedwig's Church hall off Linden and South Harrison streets in Wilmington to begin the labor-intensive process.

Parishioners volunteer their time as a show of devotion to their Catholic faith and Polish heritage. All festival proceeds go to the St. Hedwig's Parish, which first began ministering to Wilmington's Polish immigrants in 1890.

Contact Jessica Bies at (302) 324-2881 or jbies@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessicajbies.