With live polka and salsa music blaring on a small street off Eastern Avenue, the young and the old hopped and bopped to the beat on an outdoor dance floor. The aroma of hot dogs and Greek chicken souvlaki permeated the Highlandtown street as residents and visitors snacked on ethnic foods and admired the artworks like colorful origami and Ukrainian Easter eggs that were as diverse as the Baltimore neighborhood.
As Liz Soleas soaked in the scene, she knew she wasn't in Odenton anymore.
The new and longtime residents of Baltimore celebrated the diversity of their neighborhood yesterday in an eclectic annual festival called Salsapolkalooza.
"There's something I enjoy here," said Soleas, who moved out of Baltimore last year. "I'm not sure what it is, but there's a mixture of cultures that you don't see living in Odenton. I always end up coming back here."
It was a block party atmosphere, where attendees could feast on all-American treats such as a $2 hot dog, Natty Bohs and lemonade, but could also try Greek gyros and Brazilian soda.
"The older generations are Polish and Ukrainian, Greeks and Italians. The newer generations are from Mexico and El Salvador. That's where the name Salsapolkalooza comes from. It's bringing the neighborhood together through music, food and art," said Luisa Bieri de Rios, outreach coordinator at Cultural Alliance.
The organization, which promotes arts in the community, put together the one-day festival with help from local sponsors.
"I think people here are mixing and mingling, which is what the U.S. is all about," said Arnold Smith, 66 of Catonsville as he cleaned his plate of Brazilian feijoada, a black beans and meat dish.
Community organizations, craft stations and merchants filled the street, attracting nearly 1,000 participants, Rios estimated.
People tapped their feet and shimmied as a polka band, a nine-piece salsa band and a children's orchestra played upbeat tunes throughout the day.
Joe Manko, 82, and his wife, Anna, hopped onto the dance floor. Spinning and stepping, they danced the polka and cha-cha as they have for the past 30 years. The Mankos have attended every Salsapolkalooza to polka dance for the last four years.
When asked if the couple, who have been married for 59 years, would salsa dance, Joe Manko replied, "We haven't learned that, but we might get around to it."
Maria Lopez performed with a troupe of Mexican folk dancers called Mexico Vivo that served as the first performance of the day.
"People from Mexico get connected when they see us," Lopez said. "Our group means 'Mexico Alive,' and for other people seeing us for the first time, the energy gets contagious."
The festival's art activities were just as eclectic as the musical and food selections.
Inside the old Patterson Theater in the 3100 block of Eastern Ave., artists displayed their work and had stations where people could make their own creations. Many stopped to marvel at the pysanky, which are Ukrainian hand-decorated Easter eggs with elaborate geometric shapes, ornate flowers and vivid colors. The eggs are a 2,000-year-old tradition, said Halyna Mudryj, a Baltimore resident
Children and adults made their own pysanky by drawing designs on the eggshell using hot beeswax. They handed the eggs to Mudryj, who dyed their eggs and melted off the wax with a flame.
"Not very many people do them," she said about the Ukrainian eggs. "It's time-consuming art and it takes a while. I find people are fascinated especially children. I'm surprised by their patience and how they create something."
On the second floor of the Patterson, Mexican artist Franciso Loza had a makeshift gallery showing yarn art that he learned from the Huichols, an indigenous group in Mexico. Using slabs of wood, he pasted yarn using beeswax that depicted scenes of Mexican life, one showing children whacking a pinata and a bustling Mexican marketplace.
"The point is to share my culture," Loza said. "Mexico is rich in culture. This opens a door to represent my country and show them art."
madison.park@baltsun.com