On Saturday, November 10, a ceremony summarizing the highly successful “Bolesławiec District – Lower Silesian Capital of Culture 2018” project, co-financed by the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, was held at the Old Theatre in Bolesławiec. Among those attending the ceremony was Małgorzata Sroczyńska-Kordys, deputy head of the UMWD Culture Department.
As part of the initiative, events were organized for people of all ages—from primary-school pupils to senior citizens:
- Municipal Easter Foods and Decorations Competition (Osiecznica Municipality)
- May Folk Frenzy (Warta Bolesławiecka Municipality)
- A Week with the District (Bolesławiec District)
- South Slavic Culture Festival (City of Bolesławiec)
- 60th Anniversary of the Cultural Institution in Gromadka (Gromadka Municipality)
- Balkan Feast (Bolesławiec Municipality)
- Borderlands and Cabbage Festival (Bolesławiec Municipality)
- International Ceramics and Sculpture Open-Air Workshop (City of Bolesławiec)
- Bolesławiec Ceramics Festival (City of Bolesławiec)
- Heather Festival (Gromadka Municipality)
- Municipal Harvest Festival (Osiecznica Municipality)
- Potters’ Fair (Great Pot of Nowogrodziec on the Kwisa)
- Senior Citizens’ Day (Osiecznica Municipality).
Bolesławiec District Governor Karol Stasik spoke:
“Six municipalities—one heart,” a slogan that has finally been confirmed in practice. For the first time in its history, the Bolesławiec District carried out a project in cooperation with all the municipalities of the District.
Thanks to this project, we were able to see, on a broader scale than before, what our municipalities have to offer in cultural and traditional terms. And we know that they are characterized by great diversity—both cultural and traditional.
The head of the Bolesławiec District Board mentioned grants from the Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. He added that the Bolesławiec District won the voivodeship competition because it is a unique place on the map of Lower Silesia and all of Poland; after all, there is great cultural diversity here.
K. Stasik added:
What we have initiated is good both for the municipalities and for the District. Community always brings people together; it creates greater opportunities. This community should be cultivated and developed. Our small homeland, understood as the Bolesławiec District, requires integration. And this project served precisely that purpose.
Local-government officials thanked the project partners. The ceremony, hosted by Katarzyna Biegasiewicz-Mularczyk, featured performances by the “Mały Bolesławiec” Song and Dance Ensemble (under the direction of Anna Idkowiak) and the Wrocław Opera Choir, currently under the musical direction of Anna Grabowska-Borys.
The Choir’s artists take part in numerous prestigious opera productions, not only providing vocal accompaniment (for example, Orpheus and Eurydice by Mariusz Treliński), but also appearing as a collective stage protagonist (Fiddler on the Roof, Requiem in D minor).
The repertoire of the Bolesławiec concert was directly connected with Poland regaining independence. The audience heard works by renowned Polish composers, such as Fryderyk Chopin and Karol Szymanowski, as well as songs written by soldiers fighting for the freedom of their country.