POPS Gala II

The Praha Outdoor Performance Stage (POPS) Gala II will be held Friday, October 4, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the Park Ballroom. International Polka Hall of Fame artists Mollie B & SqueezeBox with Ted Lange will be performing from 6 pm to 9 pm. The Tim Chlan Band will be performing from 5 pm to 6 pm. The POPS Committee hopes to fill the Park Ballroom for the event.

POPS Gala II will be the year two celebration of the campaign to build the outdoor performance facility in New Prague, beginning in 2025. Thus far (as of March 1), $830,000 has been pledged to the building effort by more than 80 individuals, families, businesses, local community organizations and others. The goal is to raise $1 million by the end of 2025.

The New Prague City Council has recently selected City Center (old mill pond/creamery site) on the west end of the city as its preferred site for the POPS building.

POPS Gala I was held in October of 2023, with the SUV raffle and silent auction, along with band performances by the Eddie Shimota Band and Little Chicago. That event raised nearly $20,000 for the POPS effort.

POPS Gala II will take a slightly different twist. Mollie B and her band are an internationally known group that has performed in more than 30 states and eleven countries. They have a huge following in the Upper Midwest. The band will do a three-hour concert/dance. Mollie is also in the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame

“We are thrilled to book this very popular group for our second gala,” said Den Gardner, POPS chairman. “We hope to be celebrating our 2024 efforts to get close to $1 million in pledged funds. It’s going to take continued work by the POPS Committee to hold a first-class event for all those in the area who support our effort. We are hoping for a crowd of 500+ in attendance.”

The POPS Silent Auction will return for its second year, headed by Shannon Allen and Mark Braaten. Details on the auction, which will be a live, online auction like last year, will be provided this spring and summer. Approximately $6,500 was raised for POPS last year at the auction. Scan this QR Code to access the auction:

The POPS Committee thanks the Park Ballroom and American Legion Post for providing the venue rent-free again for the gala. Food and refreshments will be available again.

Photo of Mollie B

Mollie B, the multi-instrumentalist, award-winning vocalist, and host of the Mollie B Polka Party TV show, has been performing music all her life. Mollie started her career performing with the Jim Busta Band when she was only a child. Through hard work and dedication, Mollie now performs nationwide to live audiences, as well as TV productions and the movie screen. She has performed for several years with the award-winning Ted Lange and also serves as a guest artist with other bands. Mollie not only has performed on over 40 recordings, but she has also shared her many God-given talents with fans in over 30 states and eleven countries and continues to inspire young musicians with her love for music.

In 2005, Mollie joined Ted Lange’s Bratwurst Boys, based out of Ridgeville Corners, Ohio. In 2007, 2-time Grammy-nominee Ted and Mollie changed the name to SqueezeBox. SqueezeBox showcases Mollie’s versatility on several instruments, as well as her talented vocals.

In July of 2011, the first Mollie B Polka Party aired on RFD-TV. Mollie was a creative director and co-producer of these shows. The Mollie B Polka Party currently airs in over 60 million homes on RFD-TV on Wednesday at 6:30 pm and Saturday at 10:00 pm ET.

In 2018, Mollie B & SqueezeBox appeared as “Mollie B & her band” in a scene of the Warner Brothers movie, “The Mule,” directed and starring Clint Eastwood. Also in 2018, Mollie was the youngest person to be inducted into the International Polka Hall of Fame and she had a US Flag flown in her honor by the US Air Force in a mission in the Middle East. Mollie B and Ted Lange.

In 2020, like many, Mollie and Ted had to pivot due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mollie and Ted began their YouTube channel, with weekly Tuesday night performances, and gained over 20,000 subscribers and over six million views.

In the fall of 2021, Mollie received the Sperati Award from Luther College. An award presented to one alumni musician receives this award each year for their excellence in instrumental music. And in 2022, Mollie was inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame. Mollie has won the title of the “Favorite Female Vocalist” award numerous times, both from the United States Polka Association and the International Polka Association. She has also won multiple awards from the Polka America Corporation for her polka recordings with Ted Lange.

Ted Lange, a two-time GRAMMY nominee, International Polka Association “Hall of Fame” member, and the 2019, 2020, and 2021 IPA Best International Male Vocalist, co-leads and co-manages SqueezeBox with Mollie B. While on stage, he is featured on accordion, midi bass, button box and vocals. In addition to performing with SqueezeBox, he has become a name synonymous with quality polka music as an award winning-musician, DJ, promoter, engineer, songwriter, arranger and producer. He co-produced the “Mollie B Polka Party” on RFD-TV with his wife Mollie B, which broadcasts into over 60 million households.

Ted received his second Grammy nomination, with John Gora, for his work on “Bulletproof Polkas” in 2007. In addition to performing with John Gora, Ted also performed with a Toledo-based “Polish Style” band named “Change Of Pace from 2004 through 2006 and recorded 2 CDs with them.

Ted’s reputation for being able to step in as a side musician due to his keen musical ear, in addition to his vast polka music knowledge and ability, has made him one of the “first calls” for any band seeking a quality fill-in on accordion, concertina or drums.

In the late 1990s, Ted formed the band “The Bratwurst Boys” with other members of Toledo Polkamotion, which later became the band now known as “Squeezebox”. Since 2005, the dynamic duo of Ted Lange and Mollie B have taken Squeezebox to over 100 performances a year all over the United States.

POPS Gala II - October 4, 2024

By Praha Outdoor Performance Stage (POPS)

POPS Gala II - October 4, 2024

Mollie B & Squeezebox wth Ted Lange Dance/Concert