Carl Szuba has been dancing the polka for 24 years, and this weekend he's doing it again.
About 700 people from the East Coast are expected to gather at La Fontaine Bleu Sunday for the 25th Annual Polka Party, sponsored by God's Special Children, a group that raises money for mentally retarded and developmentally disabled people.
The group hopes to collect $10,000 for the Anne Arundel County Association for Retarded Citizens' Respite Care Home in Linthicum. Mr. Szuba, 67, said he has talked to County Councilman James E. DeGrange about getting the county to match the group's donation. No decision has been made.
The home cares for retarded and disabled people for short periods when their families cannot. The fee ranges from $10.50 to $94.50 a day. Most of the stays are subsidized in part by donations.
"This home is for us parents in case of an emergency or if we need to get away for a weekend," said Mr. Szuba, a retired deputy sheriff who has a retarded son. "We can place our kids in this home and go in peace."
The Respite Care Home took a financial hit last year when the county cut its $15,000 community promotion grant. Although the home gets money from other sources, including the United Way campaign, Executive Director Shirley Carson said that "it's been hard to replace" the county money.
From 1990 to 1994, Mr. Szuba donated $26,500 to the Association for Retarded Citizens and to the home, Ms. Carson said.
"We are grateful that there are people like him who are willing to help," she said. "He's a very generous person."
God's Special Children also donates equipment for programs such as the county Special Olympics and Boy Scout Troop 216, which is for handicapped children and is sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.
Sunday's dance is scheduled for 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. A $17 ticket buys a salad bar, buffet dinner, drinks and dessert. Along with polka music, the Tommy Thomas Trio and TKO will play music for line dancing, the jitterbug and waltzes.
"They're wonderful. They're really warm occasions to go to," Ms. Carson said of the annual party. "[The people] all wear Polish costumes, and they dance."
Sen. Philip C. Jimeno, a Brooklyn Park Democrat, will give Mr. Szuba a resolution in recognition of his fund-raising efforts. Mr. Szuba organized the first dance.
"I remember that first dance" in 1970, he said.
His son, Robert, who is mentally retarded and still lives with his parents, was 2 years old at the time and had just begun attending the Providence Center school in Annapolis. The group needed money. One organizer wanted to sell 100 raffle tickets.
"I said, 'No. We need 500," Mr. Szuba said. As he continued to work on the project, the group decided to have a dance and a raffle in St. Jane Frances Elementary School.
"We made $350. That was a lot of money back then," he said.
Since then, with the help of co-organizer Tom Kalinowski, the dance has become a big event for polka lovers on the East Coast. The party has drawn as many as 900 people.
"They come every year and when they leave Sunday, they say, 'We want our same tables next year,' " said Mr. Szuba's wife, Doris.
Although Mr. Szuba said he enjoys planning and participating in the party, his greatest joy comes from giving the people the help they need.
E9 "Jerry Lewis has his kids, and I have mine," he said.