Thanks to our own Dr. Matt Antkowiak of Atlas Vet (1326 H St.), you can look forward to the first annual Dyngus Day D.C. celebration at Biergarten Haus (1355 H St.). Dyngus Day is a Polish-American version of Śmigus-dyngus (pronounced SHMEE-goose-DING-goose), also known as lany poniedziałek, which means Wet Monday in Polish. The celebration marks the end of Lent, and falls on the day after Easter Sunday. Śmigus-dyngus, which has some rather obvious pagan roots, traditionally involves boys splashing or soaking girls with water, and striking them about the legs with pussy willows.
The celebration that can be found in American cities like Buffalo, NY and Cleveland, OH, is quite different. It's basically a big party with a parade, lots of polka dancing, and plenty of Polish food. Our dear Dr. Matt happens to hail from Buffalo, which is apparently the Dyngus Day capital of the world, and he wants to share a little of his joy with all of us.
Matt convinced his friend Aaron McGovern, owner of Biergarten Haus (1355 H St.) to give Dyngus Day a chance. For one day only Biergarten Haus will take down their German flags and raise Polish ones in their place. They'll serve pierogies, kielbasa, pazcki (Polish donuts), and more. Matt is still working to secure a polka band, but he's hopeful. This is the first annual Dyngus Day D.C., so it's not clear whether it will be a crowd of 20, or of 200. Stop by from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. to join the fun on Monday, April 17.
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