From March 6 to March 9, Wright College will be celebrating Polish heritage week. The events will explore the culture’s food, music, literature, poetry, and will end with a student, staff, and faculty soccer game.
The first event, is called Taste of Polonia, and the second event is called “Cafeteria’s take on polish cuisine.” The first event will deal with teaching people about popular foods from Poland, while the second will include the sale some foods in the cafeteria. “Poland has a lot of great foods, but pierogi, barszc (borsch), kielbasa (sausage), kapusta (coleslaw), kotlety (breaded pork), and paczki are a few popular ones I would say,” said Monia Bizon.
Pierogi is a traditional polish dumpling filled with potatoes, ground beef, cheese, and cabbage, or it can be sweet and filled with fresh fruits and jams. Another popular polish pastry is the Paczki, something like a doughnut. It is very popular around February 3, also known as Fat Tuesday. When the Catholic church denied the consumption of paczki during lent it became a tradition to do just the opposite. The Paczki is made up deep fried dough filled with cream or jelly, and topped with sugar, icing or glaze.
Another event happening during the week will be a dance performance by Polish folk dance group Lajkonik. Lajkonik explores culture through dance, meaningful songs and colorful wear. Their purpose is to remind Polish Americans about their past and have them be proud of it. It is also for anyone who wants to learn something about Poland. Their shows are narrative to make it equally as enjoyable as to those who understand the polish language.
Góralskie Piosenki, or highland songs, are very popular in Polish culture. Dancers wear fancy clothing made of sheepskin. Men wear pants with a long sleeve shirt and vest and women wear long dresses. Every part of the outfit has very specific names. These dances have a lot of historical background, and are mostly performed during holidays, festivals, weddings, and other events.
Along with folk music, Disco Polo is a popular dance music genre created in Poland during the 1980’s. Before Disco Polo it was known as pavement/sidewalk music. At the time, one music company owned over half the music industry causing artists to rebel by selling their own music on the streets. It reached its highest peak around 1994 to 1997. The sound consists of simple melodies, with a mix of folk and catchy lyrics. “It is very popular among weddings because it is corny and uplifting. It makes everybody dance,” said Wright College student, Patrick Jandura.
The events will end with Polska Piłka Nożna, meaning Polish futbol. What they know as futbol, however, we know it as soccer, the most popular sport in Poland. In the event, students will go head to head against faculty and staff.
There will also be an event at Wright College’s Humboldt park location that will offer a little bit about everything such as their history, poetry and music.Poland has gone through so much in history and it has only helped them grow stronger as a country. Their culture has a lot to offer, and it is very interesting to learn more about it.