Crowds flock to Celebrate Poland, despite weather

POLAND

Boardman sisters Adrianna Quinlan, 13, and her sister, Genevieve, 12, who won the two top spots in their age group in the 2016 Poland Idol singing contest at Celebrate Poland, tried to repeat their success in Saturday’s event.

“I’ve done Poland Idols for 11 years,” said Cindy Best, first-year president of Celebrate Poland, on the grounds of Poland Village Hall. “It’s fun seeing the contestants come back year-after-year.”

Best’s daughter, Brittany Best, a former Poland Idol contestant, is a voice performance major at Berklee College of Music in Boston and was one of the judges for Saturday’s contest.

The Quinlan siblings, students at Boardman Glenwood Junior High School, were among about 25 contestants in four categories - kindergarten to fourth grade, fifth to eighth grade, high school and adult.

“It literally rained on my parade Friday,” said Best.

But, she said, because of great community support, there was a crowd of about 300 for the Disco Inferno rock band performance squeezed in between the rain.

However, while precipitation threatened off-and-on early Saturday, the hot, muggy day did not keep away a crowd of people who enjoyed the events and each other.

Read more about the event in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.