It is already a tradition that on a Sunday in June, the scent of pečenica, homemade cake and pita fills the air in Bolesławice, while Balkan music and the sounds of cheerful festivities can be heard from afar.
This was the tenth edition of the Balkan celebration held in the Bolesławiec municipality. This time, unusual attractions awaited our guests from the moment they arrived — those willing could reach the event venue by “horse taxi.” In a horse-drawn wagon, guests circled a replica of a Bukovina gate on their way to the Festa. Musicians accompanied them, playing live and making the journey more enjoyable.
The hosts – Beata Widera, Elżbieta Tor and Sławomir Ratajski – dressed in traditional costumes, moved among the guests, musicians and food stalls, encouraging people to say a few words about why the Balkan Festa had brought them to Bolesławice that day. Memories were also an important part of the event – those told by the guests attending the Festa and those published in the album “Ten Balkan Festas,” submitted earlier to the “Memories” competition.
After welcoming the guests, the floor was given to the Head of the Bolesławiec Municipality – Andrzej Dutkowski and the village head of Bolesławice, Ewa Marcinów, who officially opened the 10th Balkan Festa. This was the signal for the star of this year’s Festa, the Serbian band BEOGRAD, to take the stage. Those gathered nodded appreciatively, as the band’s musical and, especially, dance skills were truly impressive. The beauty of the group’s male and female members was equally striking. This was not their only performance, as BEOGRAD entertained the Balkan Festa participants twice that day.
A collection was held during the event for people affected by the flood that occurred in May. Honorary Consul of the Republic of Serbia Ranko Tomović personally thanked everyone for their donations. Jacek Günther-Ślaski, Honorary Consul of Bosnia and Herzegovina, also spoke, thanking the organizers for inviting him to the Balkan Festa. The youngest residents of Bolesławice used the opportunity to express their gratitude as well: they surprised Andrzej Dutkowski by presenting him with flowers and thanking him for building the playground.
The following groups then performed on stage: the “Ocice” Singing Ensemble, Podgrodzianki from Raciborowice Górne, the “Ziemi Bolesławieckiej” Song and Dance Ensemble with the “Bosnia” program, the Choir of the Association of Repatriates from Bosnia, Their Descendants and Friends, the “Dawidenka” Folk Ensemble, Kapela Herbutów from Osiecznica and the “Jutrzenka” Municipal Song and Dance Ensemble.
The performance by “Jutrzenka” included a particularly moving moment. Deputy Head of the Bolesławiec Municipality Roman Jaworski presented Rozalia Kulesza with the monograph “Jutrzenka – A History for Tomorrow,” which consists of the written memories of the late Albina Kulesza. The authorities of the Bolesławiec Municipality decided to publish the memories in print, wishing not only to honor the memory of all the ensemble’s members, but also to preserve the colorful history of “Jutrzenka” from oblivion.
Participants in two competitions, “Memories” and “From Grandma’s Trunk,” were also awarded during the Balkan Festa. In the “Memories” competition, equal prizes went to: Genowefa Kwaśniak-Zięba (Bolesławiec), Eugeniusz Siwczuk (Lubań), Julia Skuła (Kruszyn), Kinga Jasińska (Łaziska),Filip Samsonowicz (Bolesławiec), Antoni Ciaciek (Nowogrodziec), Rafał Ciaciek (Ocice), Józef Herbut (Osiecznica), Anna Tencza (Prochowice) and Wiktor Skrzypacz (Bolesławiec). Nine people entered the “From Grandma’s Trunk” competition, which involved preparing traditional costumes from the territories of former Yugoslavia. After the presentations, the judging panel decided to award all participants. The audience prize went to Jolanta Deberna and Tadeusz Miżdal from Kraśnik Górny.
The Festa was also an opportunity to learn singing and dancing. The hosts took on the role of instructors, and there was no shortage of people eager to learn. It turned out that the Balkan Festa participants quickly learned the steps of “Užičko kolo.”
Re-emigrants taking part in the festivities were invited to pose for a group photograph. In this way, we managed to gather everyone together and capture them in a single photo.
Everyone found something for themselves at the Festa. The youngest visitors had inflatable attractions, water-walking bubbles, a trampoline, children’s go-karts, treats, colorful balloons and other toys. Food lovers were drawn to the numerous food stalls, where they could buy pita (with cheese, pumpkin, poppy seeds and plums, cheese, apples, spinach or meat), pečenica, pierogi (Russian-style, with buckwheat groats, or with cabbage and potatoes), grilled dishes, soups, homemade cakes, rakija and many other delicacies. The Sunday visit was also an opportunity to learn how to make pita. There was no shortage of people willing to try their hand at it, and the results proved delicious.
The Balkan Festa was preceded by dance, handicraft, singing and culinary workshops. Members of BEOGRAD entertained the participants of the pita-making classes. A lecture on the history of re-emigrants from Bosnia was delivered by Gordana Dzurdzev-Małkiewicz, a lecturer at the University of Wrocław. The bead embroidery workshop was led by Olga Burdyna from Żeliszów.
Guests invited to the 10th Balkan Festa included Ranko Tomović, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Serbia; Jacek Günther-Ślaski, Honorary Consul of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Jan Michalski , Senator of the Republic of Poland; Małgorzata Sekuła-Szmajdzińska, Member of Parliament of the Republic of Poland; Hubert Papaj, representative of the Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship; Dariusz Tokarz, representative for national minorities; Dariusz Kwaśniewski, Bolesławiec County Head; Stanisław Chwojnicki , Deputy Bolesławiec County Head; Iwona Mandżuk-Dudek, Deputy Mayor of Bolesławiec; Józef Pokładek, Chair of the Bolesławiec City Council; Bogusław Uziej, Chair of the Bolesławiec Municipal Council; Józef Hunek – Deputy Chair of the Bolesławiec Municipal Council; Michał Gajewski, Deputy Chair of the Bolesławiec Municipal Council; Henryk Borucki, Chair of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee of the Bolesławiec Municipal Council; Jan Cołokidzi, President of the “Ziemia Bolesławiecka” Association; Donat Linkowski, Radio Zachód; Inspector Henryk Stefanko, District Police Commander in Bolesławiec; Sub-Inspector Przemysław Rudzik, commander of the police station in Kruszyn; Józef Król, President of the Bolesławiec Water and Sewage Company; Halina Pawłowska-Waniak, President of the “Association of Re-emigrants from Bosnia, Their Descendants and Friends”; Zbigniew Bożęcki, President of the District Branch Board of the Association of Volunteer Fire Brigades of the Republic of Poland; Olga Burdyna, Chair of the District Council of Rural Housewives’ Associations; Grażyna Łucka from the District Council of Rural Housewives’ Associations; and Jerzy Adamczewski, parish priest of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish.
The Festa was organized by the Bolesławiec Municipality, the Municipal Culture and Sports Centre in Bolesławiec, based in Kruszyn, and the Organizing Committee of Bolesławice.
(commissioned information: Municipality/K. Wieczorek)