Polish American Arts Association: A Summer to Remember

[Cecilia Larkin]

Three events over three months = lots of memories

PAAA Summer Recap!    It has been a very eventful summer for our organization as we held three successful events over the course of three months. Importantly, all of our events were free and open to the public, part of our commitment to making Polish culture and the arts accessible to all. If you enjoyed any, or all, of our events, please consider becoming a dues-paying member if you are not one already, or make a one-time donation to support our programming. All funds go directly to supporting our cultural undertakings, as PAAA officers and board members are unpaid volunteers. If you would like to get more involved, or have an idea for an event, please email us at paaa...@gmail.com.   ­ Donate to the PAAA  ­ In May we held our annual Spring Membership meeting, which featured a presentation by Professor William Hal Gorby of West Virginia University. Professor Gorby shared vignettes from the life of Polonia in the West Virginia steel town of Wheeling. Sharing images and reading fragments of his book, Professor Gorby brought to life this Polonia, and its significance to the West Virginia northern panhandle. The event was attended by many PAAA members, as well as several West Virginia University alumni living in the Washington, DC region and former residents of the City of Wheeling too.  We thank Dr. Hal Gorby for traveling from Morgantown, WV to be with us, and wish to congratulate him again on being recognized with the 2022 Oskar Halecki Prize by the Polish American Historical Association for writing an important monograph on the Polish experience in the United States. ­ In June, we celebrated midsummer with our annual Wianki Festival of Wreaths on the National Mall.  For the first time, the Wianki festival featured performances by four Polish groups, all part of the Polish Folk Dance Association of the Americas: Ojczyzna Polish Dancers, Wiślanie Polish Folk Song and Dance Ensemble, both from Baltimore, Mazury Folk Dance Ensemble from Atlanta, and PKM Polish Folk Dance Ensemble from Philadelphia. The event was led by Stasia and Olek Skrypczuk of the Joyful Skrypczuk Duo and the Polish and American national anthems were sung by soprano Laura Kafka-Price. The event was made possible thanks to the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, DC. Polish Deputy Consul Edyta Hołdyńska described the festival as a “beautiful Polish performance in the heart of DC.” Please plan to join us next June as we mark 40 years of Wianki in Washington DC! It will be a spectacular and joyful celebration.  ­ Wisława Szymborska, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996, is one of Poland’s most celebrated poets. She published just about 350 poems during the course of her life, and twelve of those poems were presented on July 9 at the legendary Busboys and Poets Café. The event, entitled Inspired by Szymborska, was organized on the occasion of what would have been the poet's 100th birthday and featured Szymborska's poetry, presented in both Polish and English, as well as jazz interludes performed by saxophonist Krzysztof Medyna.    Photos can be found on our Facebook page.  We are thrilled to have been able to organize this special free event with the Polish Embassy that attracted a sold-out crowd. There is an obvious appetite for accessible, entertaining, and arts-filled programming. Help us meet this demand - become a PAAA members today!    https://www.paaa.us/membership ­ If you enjoy receiving these cultural updates, please consider becoming a PAAA member if you are not one already. Thank you!  ­ Donate to the PAAA  ­ ­ ­ ­ Polish American Arts Association of Washington, DC P.O. Box 9442 Washington, DC 20016 PAAA...@gmail.com This email was sent to paaanew...@gmail.com You've received it because you have expressed interest in receiving news about our events. Unsubscribe