Opry to Host Polka Show Nov. 17

The Fayette County Country Music Club will host a Polka Show Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in La Grange. The show starts at 7 p.m. and the doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Admission is $8.

Entertainers this month are: Mark Halata, Kenneth Kristynik, Tim and Alicia Kulhanek.

Mark Halata was the Texas State Accordion Champion at the age of 13 and this didn’t exactly make Mark a big man on his junior high school campus during the MTV 80s. Mark is unfashionably in tune with the Czech-Moravian music of his ancestry. He taught himself to play during his formative years. The songs he performs today are songs he has performed his entire life. Weekend trips to Moravia and exposure to Texas Polka bands such as Joe Patek, Wence Shimek and the Red Ravens kept Mark in touch with the music and culture that has always been a part of his life.

As a teenager, Mark was exposed to other forms of accordion-flavored music. He is proficient in country, Cajun, Zydeco, Tex-Mex and even rock’n’roll. He has performed with the Rounders and the Tomeo Dogs, both hyrid retro country and roots rock bands. Mark would occasionally slip in a Czech polka to educate and entertain the crowds on the Texas roots rock circuit. He has jammed with Dave Alvin and Los Lobos. In 1998 Texas Polish fiddler Brian Marshall wanted Mark to play on acclaimed Polish roots CD.

For Texavia, Mark wanted simple uncluttered arrangements. He recruited renown Austin bassist Mark Rubin from the band Bad Livers. It would be easier to list the people Mark Rubin hasn’t played with. On rhythm guitar and drums are Bruce and Jeff Brosch, respectively, sons of legendary Czech band leader Jimmy Brosch, who wrote the famous Corn Cockle Polka.

Kenneth Kristynik has been entertaining since 1962. His accordion music and vocals have taken him from the Rio Grande Valley to Dallas, from Phoenix to Beaumont and many points in between. He has also performed on six Caribbean Cruises. In the early years Kenneth toured with the Music Ramblers. In 1980 he started playing with the Red Ravens and performed with them for 36 years.

Currently Kenneth is doing solo gigs and with his band Lavaca County Line and occasionally with the Shiner Hobo Band. Kenneth plays the accordion, acoustic guitar, and the bass guitar, with a wide variety of polkas, waltzes, and classic country. His vocal talents include English, Czech, Spanish and German.

Tim and Alicia Kulhanek live in the Lone Oak area, which is between Frelsburg and Fayetteville. They are members of The Lost Cause Band, which formed in 2014. The Lost Cause prides themselves on being a variety band, which plays classic country, Polkas and waltzes, classic rock and more.

Be sure to join with the Fayette County Country Music Club on Monday, Nov. 17 for this great lineup of entertainment.