43
Celebrate Poland festival starts Friday
By JORDYN GRZELEWSKI
POLAND
The fireworks display that caps off the annual Celebrate Poland festival, which starts Friday, will feature a special tribute to a former fire chief and lifelong Poland resident who died in February.
Edwin “Sonny” Chinowth was a volunteer firefighter at the Poland Fire Department from 1959 until his death, and was the fire chief from 1978 to 1997. Greg Morrison, the Celebrate Poland president and who worked with Chinowth for 30 years at the fire department, will honor Chinowth directly before this year’s fireworks display because, “Not only was he a fire chief, he was like a second father to me.”
Morrison said Chinowth and his wife Nancy were mentors to many members of the Poland community over the years. “You could always go to Sonny and Nancy’s house because they would listen to you if you had a problem,” Morrison recalled. “He always had a saying: If you’re one of my kids, you’re welcome at my house.”
Morrison said Chinowth’s widow and two children will be present at the tribute, and that Nancy is looking forward to it.
The fireworks will take place at 10 p.m. Saturday at Baird Mitchell field near the village hall.
In addition to the fireworks display, the two-day festival features a number of other events including the Strawberry Festival, Civil War reenactments, a cemetery tour, a parade, a fun run, the “Poland Idol” singing contest, a corn hole tournament, live music from the local band “Sound Bite”, and many others. Celebrate Poland will also feature activities such as miniature golf, a bounce-a-round, and a dunk tank. Food vendors will be in the parking lot of the village hall on Friday evening and all day Saturday.
Tricia Perry, a Celebrate Poland organizer and lifelong Poland resident, said she and her friends never miss the event, which has drawn crowds of up to 10,000 people during the fireworks show.
“I’m from Poland. I’ve lived here all my life. I think it’s a great thing to celebrate your town and the Fourth of July,” Perry said. “You see everybody you know, and everybody comes together.”
A shuttle service to the center of Poland village will be available starting at the Poland Methodist Church from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, and from the high school from 6 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday. Limited free parking will be available on streets and parking lots in the Poland business district. Cortland Street will be closed for parking on Saturday.