By Molly Snyder Senior Writer Published Jul 07, 2013 at 7:36 PM

Mike Schneider heard Frankie Yankovic playing polka music for the first time when he was five years old, and he says it was love at first sound.

"It’s no secret that polka music is the happiest form of music on the face of the earth," says Schneider. "My vision is to help families discover the good, clean fun that you can experience with polka music."

Pint Size Polkas consists of Schneider on accordion and longtime friend, Doug Krueger, on banjo.

For numerous years now, Schneider has brought polka to the little people via the Summerfest Children’s Stage. We caught a close-out performance this afternoon at 3:15 p.m.

My kids have experienced polka music before at the Lakefront Brewery Palm Garden Friday night fish fry, featuring the Brewhaus Polka Kings. This was their first outdoor polka show.

We enjoyed it. My kids are at the age – 11 and 10 – that I am skeptical about some children's entertainment, thinking they will find it too babyish, but so far, they don’t. They were very involved in the show – pretending to be airplanes, doing the chicken dance, participating in call-and-response songs.

Much of the show reminded me of a polka version of Milwaukee’s folk duo, Fox & Branch. Especially when Schneider performed "I’ve Been Workin’ On the Railroad."

Many kids were called on stage to try on different hats, which were the segue into various polkas. 

Overall, I am not really into "kids’ music." I think young folks should just listen to music. The Beatles are a good place to start. So is classical. But I know that the kids’ music genre has exploded in the past 10 years, and there are a lot of talented people out there cranking out tunes and good times for the music-consumers of tomorrow.

Pint Size Polkas is particularly good at this. 

"I want to express my sincere thanks to my wife, Heather, who came up with the original Pint Size Polkas concept. Without her support and ideas, along with our many family members and friends who provided their input along the way, the success of Pint Size Polkas would not be possible," says Schneider.


Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.

Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.