The Mantua Knights of Columbus hosted a Polka Mass, Polish Dinner & Dance on Saturday, April 30. Music was provided by The Don Wojtila Band. The menu included Golabki (stuffed cabbage), Kotlet Schabowy (chicken cutlet), Bigos - Polish Hunter’s Stew (kielbasa & sauerkraut), pierogi, cabbage & noodles, appetizers, sides, dessert, and beverages. Celebrating the ethnic heritage of the Polish, German, Slovenian, or Czech people, a polka Mass has all the elements of a regular Mass. The difference is the words of the liturgy and hymns are sung to familiar polka tunes or waltzes. The polka instrumentals are played in a slower, more reverential fashion. Many point to Rev. George Balasko as the creator of the polka Mass in the early 1970s, a time when the Vatican was permitting musical variations on the liturgy. Fr. Balasko, a Youngstown Diocesan priest also known for his contributions to Catholic-Jewish dialogue, re-worked polka favorites of his youth with English lyrics. He was pastor of St. Joseph Church September, 8, 1978 - July 1, 1981 and is now retired and living at the Villa Maria in Pennsylvania.