Monday, June 23, 2008
Wawel Goes to Milwaukee
On the longest day of the year, members of the Wawel Folk Ensemble found themselves in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the annual Polish Fest. They put the extra day light on June 20 and indeed the rest of the weekend to good use.
Milwaukee’s Polish Fest is the largest Polish festival in the United States and features Grammy award winning polka bands, a variety of Polish foods, folk art and folk dance groups. Since 1998, Wawel has annually visited Milwaukee to attend Polish Fest. The 2008 edition was held from June 20 – June 22.
On June 21, Wawel performed on the cultural stage in a performance with the Syrena Folk Ensemble from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During this performance, Wawel presented its Nowy Sącz and Podlasie suites. Podlasie is the newest addition to Wawel’s repertoire. In 2007, Wawel participated in the Polish Folk Dance Association of the Americas (PFDAA) festival which featured dance workshops teaching the region of Podlasie.
Later that evening, Wawel participated in the PFDAA gala concert on the cultural stage. In addition to Wawel’s performance of its Krakowiak, Nowy Sącz and Podlasie suites, performances were given by Syrena and Syrenka from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Polish Falcons from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lajkonik from Chicago, Illinois and Wici from Chicago, Illinois.
As the gala concert concluded, the skies around the festival ground opened up with a brief, but torrential downpour, which sent the dancers scrambling to make sure none of their folk dress items were damaged by the rain.
On Sunday, June 22, Wawel participated in procession at the annual Polish Fest mass. This year’s mass was celebrated by Bishop Thomas Paprocki, an auxiliary bishop in Chicago and the Archdiocese of Chicago’s liaison to Polonia.
After mass, members of the Ensemble passed through the vendor booths looking for that last minute souvenir said their good byes to new and old friends and began the long trek home to Detroit – happy with the weekend and looking forward to Polish Fest 2009.
With the Polish Fest performances completed, Wawel now shifts its focus to preparing for its trip to the Rzeszow festival in July. The group’s next Metro Detroit area performance will be July 11, 2008 at the American Polish Century Club Polish Festival held at Freedom Hill Park in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
Milwaukee’s Polish Fest is the largest Polish festival in the United States and features Grammy award winning polka bands, a variety of Polish foods, folk art and folk dance groups. Since 1998, Wawel has annually visited Milwaukee to attend Polish Fest. The 2008 edition was held from June 20 – June 22.
On June 21, Wawel performed on the cultural stage in a performance with the Syrena Folk Ensemble from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During this performance, Wawel presented its Nowy Sącz and Podlasie suites. Podlasie is the newest addition to Wawel’s repertoire. In 2007, Wawel participated in the Polish Folk Dance Association of the Americas (PFDAA) festival which featured dance workshops teaching the region of Podlasie.
Later that evening, Wawel participated in the PFDAA gala concert on the cultural stage. In addition to Wawel’s performance of its Krakowiak, Nowy Sącz and Podlasie suites, performances were given by Syrena and Syrenka from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Polish Falcons from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lajkonik from Chicago, Illinois and Wici from Chicago, Illinois.
As the gala concert concluded, the skies around the festival ground opened up with a brief, but torrential downpour, which sent the dancers scrambling to make sure none of their folk dress items were damaged by the rain.
On Sunday, June 22, Wawel participated in procession at the annual Polish Fest mass. This year’s mass was celebrated by Bishop Thomas Paprocki, an auxiliary bishop in Chicago and the Archdiocese of Chicago’s liaison to Polonia.
After mass, members of the Ensemble passed through the vendor booths looking for that last minute souvenir said their good byes to new and old friends and began the long trek home to Detroit – happy with the weekend and looking forward to Polish Fest 2009.
With the Polish Fest performances completed, Wawel now shifts its focus to preparing for its trip to the Rzeszow festival in July. The group’s next Metro Detroit area performance will be July 11, 2008 at the American Polish Century Club Polish Festival held at Freedom Hill Park in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
