Who: Kramarczuk’s Sausage Company
What: Kielbasa Festival
Where: Kramarczuk’s
When: Sept. 10 from 5-10 p.m. & Sept 11 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Price: If you’re 21+, it’ll be $10 for admission. $5 for those 6 through 20, and the youngins get in for free.
We have our fair share of Oktoberfests in the Twin Cities, which are much appreciated. On almost any given night, from the beginning of September through late October, you can find an extensive selection of high-quality beers, both domestic and imported, and take in the authentic atmosphere that Oktoberfest lends to its Minnesotan counterparts during that eventful fall period. Germanic traditions are thus upheld to the greatest degree throughout the area, but what about other European traditions?
Nick Kramarczuk, owner of Kramarczuk’s Sausage Company in Northeast Minneapolis, has pondered the same question since the store participated in the very first Oktoberfest in the city.
“It’s been a great experience to be a part of Oktoberfest”, he said, “but we wanted to go off on our own and start something new. There are a lot of people [in Minnesota] with Eastern and Northern European heritage, too.”
This year, Kramarczuk decided that he would celebrate his Ukranian heritage and invite the community to enjoy the spoils.
The first annual Kramarczuk’s Kielbasa Festival will obviously feature the sausages themselves and an array of other delicious dishes from Ukraine and the surrounding regions, but there will also be Nordeast and various European beers on tap. The stage in the parking lot will showcase ethnic bands and polka dancers, and local folk band Romantica will be performing over the course of two days. The University of Minnesota’s own Brass Barn Polka Band will be playing on Saturday.
And the recommended kielbasa this year?
“Elk bratwurst with dried blueberries,” Kramarczuk says with a grin. A cheddarwurst will be on the menu especially for U of M students, too, discounted with a valid university ID. Vegan and vegetarian options are also available, should all this meat sound off-putting.
Conveniently, Kramarczuk’s Kielbasa Festival happen the same time as the Minneapolis Oktoberfest at St. Anthony Main, which is less than two blocks away. Slurp down a sausage, then mosey on over to get sauced.
Na zdorov’ya!
