“Let’s sing together, because in reality we are all the same, regardless of where we live”
Under this slogan, on Sunday, 9 June 1996, the First Children’s Song Festival “Let’s Sing Together” was held in Ocice. The festival participants were young artists from primary schools in the Bolesławiec municipality and city. The competition aimed to promote music, dance and singing among young people, as well as to integrate urban and rural communities. When preparing the participation rules, the festival organizers anticipated postponing the event in case of rain… no one anticipated that on Sunday, 9 June 1996, the temperature in the shade could reach +35°C. All the artists distressed and exhausted by the heat found relief in the shade of the park where the festival was held.
The groups and soloists from nearby schools performed on a stage specially prepared for the occasion by school employees and parents.
The festival format did not provide for performances to be evaluated by a jury. The competition took the form of a public vote.
Duets and soloists performed in the first section. After the vote, the audience selected its winners:
First place – a duet from School No. 6 in Bolesławiec,
Second place – a duet from the school in Kraśnik Górny,
Third place – Emilia Izba from Nowa Wieś Kraśnicka.
Vocal and dance groups performed in the second section. The audience gathered in the park decided that the following groups would receive distinctions in the vocal-group category:
First place – the “Ściąga” group from Ocice,
Second place – the “My na szlaku” group from Ocice,
Third place – the “Małe Echo” group from Primary School No. 6 in Bolesławiec.
The only dance group, from Primary School No. 5 in Bolesławiec, caused a huge sensation with a gymnastic-dance routine performed to country music.
The audience separately recognized the efforts of the “fifth school” by awarding it a special prize in the dance-group category.
The performance by pupils from Primary School No. 6 in Bolesławiec was warmly received; at the festival, they performed twice: in the soloist and group categories.
In addition to prizes in the form of video and audio cassettes, every competition participant received a cassette recording of their performance.
In addition to the audience prizes, individual distinctions were also awarded. They were sponsored by the Association of Creative Teachers in Bolesławiec, and presented by Dariusz Kwaśniewski – president of the Association of Creative Teachers, and Wacława Woźniak – school inspector of the School Superintendent’s Office in Lubań.
The charming “alligators” became the festival mascots and were awarded to the following groups: “My na szlaku” from Ocice, “Małe Echo” from Primary School No. 6 in Bolesławiec, and the dance-and-gymnastics group from Primary School No. 5 in Bolesławiec.
The competition was organized by the School Council of Primary School in Ocice, the Association of Creative Teachers in Bolesławiec, and GOKiS in Kruszyn.
During the festival, a bonfire was lit in the upper part of the park, where participants and the gathered audience could roast sausages and enjoy themselves.
Nine of the 22 schools from the municipality and city took part in the public vote. That is too few, but… let those who were absent from the shared bonfire and singing regret it.
The repertoire presented by the groups and soloists included many valuable textual and melodic pieces. The next edition of the Meetings with Folklore demonstrated continued interest in traditional singing and folk music. The large number of performers is evidence of this. The organizers deserve recognition for preparing and efficiently conducting the event, as well as for their ongoing work with groups in the local area, which has resulted in a high standard of performances.