Good news, Polka Fest fans: Despite fears from organizers that the popular Cedar festival might have to pull the plug on its 2025 event, a new fee agreement between the festival and Solon Township will allow the celebration to move forward next year.

As the Leelanau Ticker reported on Wednesday, the Cedar Polka Fest Foundation and Solon Township had not yet resolved lingering issues around fees for the use of township parklands. That issue nearly derailed the 2024 Polka Fest, and Lisa Rossi-Brett, executive director of the Polka Fest Foundation, told The Ticker that the festival needed a signed agreement this week to avoid a cancellation in 2025.

In the past, the township has charged the Polka Fest just $1 to lease parks, but some township officials have recently pushed for higher deposits and fees. The Solon Township Board had pledged earlier this year to develop a fee structure that could apply to all organizations or events seeking to use the parks, but no such discussions ever took place.

The Polka Fest’s park lease – and the fees to secure it – were major topics of conversation at the board’s Thursday evening meeting this week. According to Rossi-Brett, the Polka Fest and the township came to “an amicable agreement” where the festival will pay a small fee to use the parks.

“We agreed on a charge of $225 per day for use of the tennis courts for the Polka Festival,” Rossi-Brett says. “Additionally, the new township supervisor assured us that the board will immediately begin working on a written fee structure for future use. This will allow us to have a multi-year agreement in place prior to next year.”

That “new township supervisor” is Chris Comeaux, who defeated prior supervisor James Lautner in the Republican primary in August. Comeaux ran unopposed in the November election to secure his seat. Last night marked his first meeting in the new role.

The next Polka Fest is scheduled for August 21-24, 2025