About 1,100 polka-lovers danced their calories away at the SNPJ Farm in Kirtland, Ohio, on Wednesday, September 12, at the 15th annual Slovenian Sausage Festival hosted by the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum. Visitors sampled sausages from vendors and voted their favorite, then took to the dance floor for eight hours of music by top polka performers.
The People's Choice Award went to Bill Azman's Quality Meats with Raddell's Slovenian Sausage Shop as the runner-up. A panel of judges picked Hocevar's Maple Heights Catering for top sausage of 2018 with Bill Azman's as runner-up. All three sausage vendors are based in the Cleveland, Ohio, area.
 Marie and Bill Azman, proprietors of Azman's Quality Meats
with Denny Bucar of the Polka Hall of Fame
Sixty musicians and bandleaders, including Canada's Polka King Walter Ostanek and Nashville's Joey Miskulin, volunteered to perform for the annual fund-raiser for the Polka Hall of Fame.
TJ Likovic was one of sixty entertainers at the 15th Slovenian Sausage Festival
"I love the food and the music," said Lou Kostello of Atlanta, Georgia. "I grew up with it in Cleveland and I try to come back every year.Slovenian sausages (kranjske klobase) are cured and smoked and prepared from recipes brought to the United States by immigrants from Slovenia. All three winners rely on century-old sausage recipes handed down by their grandparents. An estimated two hundred pounds of sausages were enjoyed at the event.
Jay Raddell, of Raddell's Slovenian Sausage Shop
The National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum celebrates the city's home-grown dance music with audio exhibits, historic photographs and original instruments. The sound emerged from the city's Slovenian neighborhoods and first became a national sensation in the decade after World War II. The Polka Hall of Fame is located at 605 East 222nd Street in Euclid, Ohio, in the city's historic former city hall. For more information, check the website at www.polkafame.com or call (216) 621- FAME.
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