Queen Karlene of the Classy Red Hatters (See row 1, photo 3, far left.) invited Queen Jill to go along with her chapter to a fabulous reenactment of a traditional  Polish country wedding reception.  The bride, groom, their families, and all the dancers were dressed in traditional Polish costumes.  

When the bride and groom entered the reception hall, they were greeted with the Polish custom of bread and salt.  Then came the champagne toast and casting of the glasses by the bride and groom.  Cheers went up "Sto lat, sto lat." ("May you live a hundred years.") and, "Gorzko, gorzko," ("May you sweeten life by kissing".)

Then the bride and groom were seated and the sobotka performance (Polish folkdancing) began.  Children of all ages and adults wearing festive and colorful garb entertained the bride and groom and all the guests.  It was non-stop and quite spectacular.

After watching the sobotka performance, we were served a delicious wedding dinner consisting of generous portions of pickles, tomatoes, green salad, noodle soup, pork cutlets, vegetables, mashed potatoes, and a myriad of delicious desserts.  Traditional Polish honey wine was the main drink.

After dinner, there was "game dancing", where the guests could also join in.  Most of the dances were done in circles, and the "kissing dance" was the most fun to watch.  The men formed an inner circle and the women formed an outer circle.  When the music began, they would dance in opposite directions.   When the music stopped, the dancing stopped, and the women kissed the men who stopped in front of them.

The evening was conducted in both English and Polish.  It certainly felt like we actually were in the Polish countryside.