This Easter Monday, April 21 was a unique day in Cleveland as it marked the 15th anniversary of a special Cleveland celebration: Dyngus Day.
For the uninitiated, or those outside the Ohio Slavic community, the holiday is Cleveland’s take on Śmigus-dyngus, the day Poland accepted Catholicism over 1000 years ago.
JCU alum Adam Roggenburk ’05 deserves much of the credit for the modern iteration of the holiday. As president of USA Expositions, he noticed the small celebrations that would pop up along Gordon’s Square in Polish Bars and restaurants and, in collaboration with those businesses, brought an organized Dyngus Day celebration to Cleveland in 2010.
When integrating the original celebrants into the new official Dyngus Day, Roggenburk worked with DJ Kishka, or Justin Gorski, to MC the celebration and, ever since, he has been the music man and furry face of the holiday.
Music, to Kishka and Roggenburk really is the center of the holiday, spiritual and physical, since the streets are blocked of and center around the main stage. Roggenburk stated “Major polka music, bands from across the Midwest” make the holiday such an attraction, with around 50,000 attendees visiting over the over 13 hours the stages and food stands are open.
Mario Ghosen ’23 and Ryan Samko ’23 dressed in red for the occasion both agreed that this was a great way for Cleveland to come together, with Ghosen adding that “We’re all Polish today, with nice music, fun people and good beer.”
The pair, along with Roggenburk, Gorski and many more are excited for the 16th Cleveland Dyngus day next year, on April 6, 2026.
