At the beginning, istotne.pl (as boleslawiec.org) was the media mouthpiece for the clay parade, which was organized by several entrepreneurs from Bolesławiec and the surrounding area (including people from istotne.pl). Bogusław Nowak increasingly took credit for the event, until the earlier co-organizers stopped participating. Nowak was left alone, organized it once, and then stopped organizing it.
Everything is in our archives, because at first istotne.pl was the only portal that wanted to promote the event: a parade of people painted with clay. At that time, no celebrity apart from Makłowicz even looked towards Bolesławiec.
This is how we once wrote about Gliniada:
An initiative of Bolesławiec residents. A parade of people smeared with clay, which is one of the city’s symbols, as a way to present one’s individuality and become a temporary celebrity.
In 2007, people gathered and, devoting their time and money, painted themselves with clay and took part in the parade. In 2008, the event acquired the name Gliniada and an organizing team. It consisted of:
- Paweł Apanasewicz
- Urszula Frąszczak-Matyjewicz
- Justyna Rutkowska-Talar
After the event, the real organizers thanked a truly large number of Bolesławiec residents. The event was sponsored, among others, by the District Office, whose patronage involved not only financial assistance but also substantial technical and organizational support. Thanks were extended to Renata Czerwińska and Majka Nowak. The event received financial support from Ms. Samoszyńska and the following companies: Amper – Robert Opała, Bader – director Grzegorz Menet and Villa Ambasada – Bogusław Nowak (sic!). At that time, the organizing team did not name him as the creator of Gliniada.
For media patronage, the team warmly thanked Krzysztof Gwizdała and the portal istotneinformacje.pl (today istotne.pl).
Thanks for in-kind support were extended, among others, to:
- The “Meduza” Garden Center in Kruszyn
- Jan Cołokidzi
- The Municipal Cultural Center in Warta Bolesławiecka
- The Bolesławiec Forest District
- The Water Supply and Sewerage Company in Bolesławiec
- The Military Unit in Bolesławiec
You can find more companies and people who created Gliniada in the article: A Pair of Clay People Got Married for Real.
Via Sudetica organized Gliniada until 2013. It was a group bringing together primarily artists and entrepreneurs from the tourism industry in our region, not only Bolesławiec. The group’s aim was to promote the region’s tourist attractions. Via Sudetica head Mariusz Lickiewicz, together with a team, did an enormous amount of work until 2013. Then Nowak parted ways with Via Sudetica and organized one Gliniada in Bolesławiec in 2014. That was when celebrities appeared, with whom Nowak replaced a large number of Bolesławiec residents.
After this split, Via Sudetica head Mariusz Lickiewicz wrote ironically:
But Mr. Nowak is “right” – NO ONE EVER DID ANYTHING FOR GLINIADA. There was no entire army of volunteers or VIA SUDETICA members […] who worked hard for years, handled things, and gave a part of their private and professional lives so that GLINIADA – ONLY MR. NOWAK’S GLINIADA – could develop. There were no Bolesławiec ceramic artists who, in practically unlimited numbers, supported GLINIADA – ONLY MR. NOWAK’S GLINIADA – with clay slip. […] There were no children of ours who naturally became the “faces” of GLINIADA – ONLY MR. NOWAK’S GLINIADA.
Who made money from Gliniada?
Bogusław Nowak repeatedly said how much he contributed to Gliniada. He claimed that he had never earned a single grosz from Gliniada in Bolesławiec. Meanwhile, as emerged from contracts and issued invoices, Nowak earned more than PLN 28,000 in 2014 alone. And he earned it specifically from Gliniada in Bolesławiec. The money went directly into his account.
In total, in 2014 and 2015, Bogusław Nowak received PLN 65,000 gross from the Marshal’s Office for organizing Gliniada—that is, from public funds. In 2016, the White Festival in Wrocław (which was a copy of Gliniada and in which Bogusław Nowak also participated) cost taxpayers more than PLN 95,000, while approximately... 135 people took an active part in the festival.
A new event was born – Glina Show
After three years (2015, 2016 and 2017) during which Bogusław Nowak did not organize Gliniada in Bolesławiec, in 2018 the istotne.pl portal and the boleslawianie.eu association decided to restore the event as an open, community initiative of Bolesławiec residents, rather than an undertaking centered around one person.
In 2022, the fifth Glina Show will take place on August 20 during the Ceramics Festival. Anyone who wishes will be able to paint themselves with clay in Bolesławiec.
Before the parade takes place, however, we will meet this coming Saturday, July 23, in Bolesławiec’s market square from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. to play with clay slip and eat delicious pizza from Telepizza Bowling Bolesławiec. We will also promote motorcycles from Szkoła Jazdy DM Pabisz.