The ninth edition of the Balkan Festa in Bolesławice continues to preserve its unique character as a friendly neighborhood celebration. The women bake cakes, while the men roast a pig. After a good meal and even better drinks, they sing and dance together.
This year, the star of the Festa was the Greek band Mythos. It performed the greatest Greek hits and invited the guests to dance the Greek Zorba (Sirtaki) and Hasaposerwiko. Well-known and respected local groups also performed at the Festa: Zagajnik Wykroty, Nasza Biesiada and Kapela Herbutów, while the Gminny Zespół Pieśni i Tańca „Jutrzenka” and Zespół Pieśni i Tańca „Bolesławiec” performed dances.
The highlight of the program was rooster catching. The tradition came to Bolesławiec from Bosnia. At the Festa, several dozen contestants tried to catch three roosters. The winners were a woman from Ocice and two men—one from Żeliszów and the other from Bolesławice. The prizes were fine birds that had already been caught.
The event was enriched by the memories of people who arrived in our area from Bosnia in 1946. Franciszek Kwaśniak spoke about his publication, in which he described the life of Father Antoni Dujlović. He was a priest from Gumiery (Prynjavor Municipality), where nearly 120 Polish families lived. The priest was brutally murdered in 1943 by Chetniks (members of Serbian partisan units). Kwaśniak also described the everyday life of Poles in Bosnia, their acclimatization, customs and daily problems.
The organizers of the Balkan Festa in Bolesławice were the Village Council, the Parish Council and the Municipal Culture and Sports Centre. All enthusiasts of Balkan culture were invited to the City Days (June 16–19) and Saturday’s South Slavic Culture Festival. The festival’s star would be the Boban i Marko Marković Orchestra—the best brass band in Serbia for 20 years.
(information: Grażyna Hanaf)