Crowds returned to take part in a Labor Day tradition that was in jeopardy of being lost forever.

The long-running Polish Festival was cancelled last year, but this year, we found a different story.

Today, we have more on how the hard work of some volunteers brought the festival back.

After one year off, organizers say there was a resurgence of volunteers and this year, the Polish Festival was back.

“A lot of the older people didn’t see the younger ones staying. They’re going off to college, moving out of the area, so that was dilemma,” says festival committee co-chair Matheu Smiley.

It’s a generation gap that church members blamed for ending the St. Michael Church’s Polish Festival last year.

Since then, Matheu and Alana Smiley, a couple in their mid-30s, took over as organizers, and they say a mix of old and new volunteers came in.

“We just had an overwhelming response of people that wanted to come up and help, people that aren’t even members of the church, so we’ve had a lot of volunteers that are new, this is their first year,” says Smiley.

“As new people came in. our veterans were able to teach the younger group what to do,” says committee co-chair Alana Smiley.

The Smileys say people seemed to have missed the festival.

“The lines just kept getting longer yesterday. There was no end in sight. We just had a great turnout, perfect weather,” says Alana Smiley.

So many people came that organizers say they started running out of pierogi and other food.

“In years past, we’ve had some leftovers, so it’s nice that people are buying our things and enjoying it,” says Matheu Smiley.

“It’s made by grandmas, so they know how to make it and it’s the best!” says festival-goer Brenda Frick from Falls Creek.

From the games to the food booths, organizers say hundreds of volunteers are involved in making the two-day festival a reality. It was held Sunday from noon to 10 p.m. and Monday from noon to 5 p.m.

“We changed the hours back to the original hours, back to Sunday and Monday, not Saturday and Sunday, and I guess people just wanted the good Polish food again,” says volunteer Lori Fitzer.

Organizers say they hope people will keep volunteering and attending the festival, so it will continue in future years.