DYNGUS DAZE ARE HERE AGAIN

As the springtime evening grows. Crazy ways are evident as we watch the melting snows. Those could have been the lyrics that Led Zeppelin used when recording the album Houses of the Holy, if they had lived in Buffalo at the time. Nowhere else is it appropriate for young women to slap men about the buttocks and legs with a bare freshly trimmed pussy willow branch to fend off their amorous squirt gun armed suitors (except at the Mayflower Hotel, maybe), yet that is exactly what will go on during the annual post lenten ritual known as Dyngus Day. This Eastern European observance—adopted by Buffalo in the 1960s—has grown to such grand proportions that Western New York has been dubbed the “Dyngus Day Capital of the World.” Last year saw the debut of a parade in the city’s historic Polonia district which drew such tremendous response that this year not only will the parade return but a free shuttle (sponsored by Sobieski Polish Vodka) will transport partygoers between venues in the district until 1am. Although the East Side of Buffalo is where the “reverse Mardi Gras” revelry originated 45 years ago, it has spread to suburban locations as well, with numerous parties planned at various bars, banquet halls and VFW posts throughout the region. So grab your pussy willows and an umbrella and join the fun. Polka music will be pulsating and Polish beer and vodka will be flowing as the region shakes off the effects of winter and prepares for the rebirth of spring with one of the most unique ethnic fetivals in the nation. For a complete listing of Dyngus Day venues and schedules visit dyngusdaybuffalo.com

—eddy dobosiewicz

5pm. Parade from the Broadway Market (999 Broadway St.) to the Central Terminal (495 Paderewski Dr.)

for the after-party (5:45pm-1am). $10 admission or $2 with a wristband from another Dyngus party.