BOOK SIGNING: "The Peasant Prince," October 20 - Hamtramck, MI

Alex Storozynski, the President and Executive Director of the Kosciuszko Foundation, NY will sign copies of his book, The Peasant Prince – Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution at the Polish Art Center - 9539 Joseph Campau, Hamtramck, Michigan on Tuesday, October 20 from 1-3 pm.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR COPY NOW
Have a book dedicated for a Perfect Christmas Gift!
(Orders must be received before the event for special dedications)

Storozynski will also appear at the Piast Institute (11633 Joseph Campau St
Hamtramck, MI) at 6pm on Tuesday, October 20. Contact Virginia for tickets to the Sherry Hour at 313-733-4535

POLISH PRIDE: The 72nd Pulaski Day Parade – NYC

The 72nd annual Pulaski Day Parade was held on Sunday October 4, 2009 in New York City with Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa as the Grand Marshal, leading the way up 5th Avenue.

The parade was titled: "For Freedom- Yours and Ours - Za Wolność - Waszą i Naszą" and commemorated

- 90th Anniversary of the Second Republic of Poland

- 70th Anniversary of the Nazi/Soviet Invasion of Poland

- 65th Anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino

- 65th Anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising

- 30th Anniversary of the First Papal Visit of John Paul II to Poland, lead to start of Solidarity

- 25th Anniversary of the Murder of Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko, The Solidarity Priest

- 20th Anniversary of the First Free Elections and the end of Communism in Poland

– Staś Kmieć

2009 Pulaski Day Parade

NEWS: Wałęsa Comments on Nobel Peace Prize

Lech Wałęsa - 1983 peace prize winner and Poland’s president from 1990 to 1995 commented to the New York Times on the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Barak Obama: “Who, Obama? So fast? Too fast — he hasn’t had the time to do anything yet. For the time being, Obama’s just making proposals. But sometimes the Nobel committee awards the prize to encourage responsible action. Let’s give Obama a chance.”

President Obama said Friday that he was "surprised and deeply humbled" by the decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award him the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

The committee said it honored Obama for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

Obama said he viewed the decision less as a recognition of his own accomplishments and more as "a call to action."

The Nobel committee recognized Obama's efforts at dialogue to solve complex global problems, including working toward a world free of nuclear weapons. "Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the committee said.

The decision was "unanimous" and came with ease. The committee wanted to promote the president just it had Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990 for his efforts to open up the Soviet Union. "His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population," the committee said of Obama.

– Staś Kmieć

FOLKLORE: Dożynki at the Kosciuszko Foundation – NYC

The Polish American Folk Dance Company and The Polish American Teachers Association will show the colorful and traditional celebration of Dożynki at the Kosciuszko Foundation (15 E 65th St, NYC) on Saturday, October 17 beginning at 10:00 am. The Harvest Festival will take place in the form of a full-day workshop and performance for children.

Children will gather with instructors in small groups to learn songs, dialogues and dances, which they will present in a special show for family and friends at 2 p.m.

Space is limited and reservations are required for this fun and educational bilingual program. For details and information call: 212-734-2130.
– Staś Kmieć

ART: Polish Art Celebrates Heritage Month - Greenpoint, NY

Jacek Wolski is presenting his drawings in an Art Exhibition entitled Touching Faces – October 1- 31, at Starbucks Coffeehouse, 910 Manhattan Ave in Greenpoint
Brooklyn.

Wolski was born in Poland and studied commercial art and art education at UMCS University in Lublin, Poland under Marian Bogusz, one of this century's most important figures in Polish post-modern art. His exuberant paintings and drawings have been exhibited in many galleries in Canada, USA and Europe.

– S. K.

MUSIC: Polish Compositions open Season - NYC

Monika Fabijańska, Director - Polish Cultural Institute, composer Paweł Mykietyn, Anna Perzanowska, PCI Music Programming

On October 1, Symphony Space in association with the Polish Cultural Institute in New York brought the musical talents of the The Del Sol Quartet to play music by Polish composers Paweł Mykietyn and Paweł Szymański, Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz, and Cuban American composer Tania León in their season opener of “Poland meets Latin America.”

The San Francisco-based Quartet made their NY debut, playing U.S. premieres by the Polish composers. A conversation with Mykietyn and Leon, moderated by Laura Kaminsky, Symphony Space's Associate Director preceded the concert of music that was edgy, rhythmic, rhapsodic, and cutting edge.

Mykietyn is an emerging new force in Polish music. His work ranges from chamber music, symphonies, theater, opera and film. At the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival his musical accompaniment filled the theatre with crashing gothic chords in the theatrical production of The Dybbuk; while scratchy musical sounds echoed in Krum. His work can also be heard as the underscore of Andrzej Wajda’s latest film Tatarak (Sweet Rush).

“I take my inspiration from life,” said Mykietyn at the reception following the performance. “I use a mathematical approach to micro-tonal compositions, which in this new-age of technology are simulated on the computer.”

Mykietyn met with The Del Sol Quartet the day prior to performance to fine-tune their interpretation of his String Quartet No.2. "There is an element of dance to his work," said violinist Rick Shinozaki.

“It is an honor to have the composer in the room to interact and discover his personal nature,” said cellist Hannah Addario-Berry. “In this case, it was reassuring that what we were playing met with his approval. He offered his insight to the gesture (shape of the musical phrasing) of the music.”

– Staś Kmieć

POLISH PRIDE: Philadelphia’s Pulaski Day Parade’s “P.K.M. Connection”

One of the many groups participating in this year’s Pulaski Day Parade in Philadelphia was The P.K.M. Polish Folk Dance Group. The Polish Intercollegiate Club of Philadelphia was formed as a club in 1915, and then incorporated a dance group in 1960.

This year’s Grand Marshal was Dr. Stephen Skorczynski. Prior to starting college, Stephen joined the Polish Intercollegiate Club of Philadelphia and performed in the group for over 20 years and, at one time, served as Vice-President of the organization.

At the reviewing stand P.K.M presented an abbreviated version of Kwiaty Polskie, with an emphasis on the Podhale Mountain Goralskie segment, that being Skorczynski's favorite region of Poland. They presented him with an authentic ciupaga (mountain axe) with an engraving celebrating his selection as this year's Grand Marshal.

Representing the Group as Miss PKM was Liz Stasnek, a member of the zespół for 5 years.

This Saturday, The Polish Home in Philadelphia is organizing a zabawa dance - Jesienna Biesiada. The Voice Band will play a variety of Polish and Polish American music. Guests will be served a delicious, authentic Polish dinner and there will be door prizes. All this for just $25!

– Staś Kmieć

FOLKLORE: Lado Folk Dance Ensemble comes to NYC

For those folk dance enthusiasts waiting for Mazowsze or Śląsk to return to the U.S., there is another Eastern European folk dance company that can fit the bill. Lado National Folk Dance Ensemble of Croatia made its name in the U.S. at the same time Sol Hurok debuted the Polish companies.

The company will give a free vocal concert at NYC’s St. Patrick's Cathedral on October 13, at 7:00 pm. On Wednesday, October 14, 7:30 pm Lado will perform a full concert at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater.

Founded in 1949, this brilliant company of dancers, singers, and musicians bring centuries of tradition to life, in swirling, spectacular performances—a vivid living museum that features more than 1200 costumes, some more than 100 years old.

Historically the Croatian tribes can be traced to a wide region around Kraków in Poland, in Ukraine, Bohemia, and Austria, thus showing migrations to their future homeland. According to some American documents from the beginning of this century there were about 100,000 immigrants to the USA born around Kraków who declared themselves to be Bielo-Chorvats (White Croats) by nationality. There are some conjectures that several noble families in Poland (like Paluk's) are descendants of White Croats. Numerous names of villages, hills and rivers in Poland, Slovakia, Czechia (especially in Moravia), and Ukraine, have equivalents in Croatia.

– Staś Kmieć

POLISH AMERICANS: Jane Krakowski at Feinstein's– NYC

Krakowski's Solo Cabaret Debut at Feinstein's

Tony Award winner and Emmy nominee Jane Krakowski makes her solo nightclub debut October 6-17 at Feinstein's at Loews Regency.

Her new show, entitled Jane Krakowski Has Sold Out… Tickets Available, features songs popularized by the female performers who have inspired her, including Anita O'Day, Ann-Margret and Eartha Kitt.

A Tony Award winner for her work in Nine, Jane Krakowski has been seen on Broadway in Starlight Express, Company, and the original cast of Grand Hotel, but may be best known for her work on TV's "Ally McBeal" and the current "30 Rock."

DRG Records will record Krakowski's show live Oct. 17 for a December CD release (www.drgrecords.com).

Feinstein's is located at 540 Park Avenue at 61st Street in New York City.

– Staś Kmieć

PUBLIC CONVERSATION: After Kapuściński: The Art of Reportage in the 21st Century

The Polish Cultural Institute in New York,

the National Book Critics Circle,

the New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU, and

the Literary Reportage concentration at NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute

present

AFTER KAPUŚCIŃSKI: THE ART OF REPORTAGE IN THE 21ST CENTURY
A Public Conversation

Tuesday, October 6
5:00-7:00 PM: The Art of Reportage on the Ground and on the Page
7:30-9:30 PM: Literary Reportage Between Fact and Fiction, Self and Other
Wednesday, October 7
6:30-8:30 PM: Kapuscinski's Legacy in the 21st Century

Hemmerdinger Hall, New York University
100 Washington Square East, New York, NY
Admission: Free and open to the public

This two-day symposium offers an exciting public conversation about the state of the art of reportage amid a rapidly changing media landscape, various approaches to and practices of long-form and literary journalism, and the ongoing legacy of renowned practitioners like Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński.

Ryszard Kapuściński, who died in 2007, was one of the most celebrated and controversial journalists of the last fifty years. He found his calling covering Africa. In his early years he developed the technique of two notebooks: one allowed him to earn his living with the bread and butter of agency reporting of facts, while the other was filled with the experiences, sights and smells of Africa. This second notebook developed into his famous books The Emperor (1978) which chronicled the fall of Haile Selassie of Ethopia, Another Day of Life(1976) a unique and closely observed account of the collapse of Portuguese colonialism in Angola, and Shah of Shahs (1982) on the last days of Shah Pahlavi of Iran.

POLISH PRIDE: Pulaski Day Parade in Philadelphia - Sunday, October 4

Sunday, October 4

Pulaski Observance Mass, 9:30 A.M.
Celebrated by Cardinal Justin Rigali, Cathedral of SS. Peter & Paul, 18th and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Center City Philadelphia, PA.,

Pulaski Tribute Program, 10:30 A.M.

At the portrait of Pulaski by the Kopernik Monument, Torun Triangle Park, across from the Cathedral - 18th and the Parkway.

The Pulaski Day Parade, 12:30 P.M.

Step off from 20th and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. It will march down the Parkway to 16th Street, u-turn on 16th Street and march West on the Parkway, around Logan Circle and end at 22nd Street. (Parade Route Map) Free seating at Logan Circle

Live television coverage on WPVI TV-6, from 12:30 to 2 P.M.

Michael Blichasz, Polish American Radio Program host, & Jeff Skversky, TV 6 Broadcaster, will co-host the 2009 Pulaski Day Parade, October on WPVI-TV 6 ABC.

Grand Marshal of 2009 Pulaski Day Parade

Dr. Stephen Skorczynski will be the Grand Marshal of Philadelphia's 2009 Pulaski Day Parade. This year's parade theme is "Marking the 230th Anniversary of the Death of General Pulaski and Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Invasion of Poland and the Outbreak of World War II." In 2009, Polonia also marks the 76th Anniversary of the Pulaski Day Parade in Philadelphia.

FILM: Andrzej Wajda Film at New York Film Festival - NYC

Sweet Rush/Tatarak: Fri. Oct. 2: 6PM; Sat. Oct. 3 4:15PM

The currents of love and loss move swiftly through this bold and experimental new film by Polish master Andrzej Wajda, about the chance meeting between a doctor's wife (Krystyna Janda), still reeling from the death of her two sons in World War II, and the handsome working-class youth who inspires in her a rush of motherly and romantic feelings. The source material is a novella by celebrated writer Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz, which Wajda had long envisioned as a vehicle for the incomparable Janda, the great star of his Man of Marble and Man of Iron. But when an earlier attempt to make the film was derailed by the death of Janda's husband (and Wajda's frequent cinematographer), Edward Klosinski, Wajda reconceived the project as an experimental movie about moviemaking, framed by Janda's heartbreaking monologue about her spouse's final days and the mysterious entanglement of life and art.

The Hollywood Reporter calls Sweet Rush "...a finely detailed, astutely crafted film in miniature, a small gemstone that glistens in the memory long after the lights come up."

Buy tickets Located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, The Film Society of Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater is on 65th Street near Amsterdam Avenue.

MUSIC: Tonight - Paweł Mykietyn and Paweł Szymański Compositions – NYC

Symphony Space in association with the Polish Cultural Institute in New York is holding its own G20 tonight … or at least a G3. The Del Sol Quartet will play music by Polish composers Pawel Mykietyn (who will also be in attendance) and Pawel Szymanski, Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz, and Cuban American composer Tania León. Don’t worry, they aren’t shutting down any streets and security will be a breeze.

The San Francisco-based Del Sol Quartet makes their NY debut, playing U.S. premieres by Polish composers Mykietyn and Szymanski. Stop by at 6:30 for cocktails and conversation with Mykietyn and León, moderated by Laura Kaminsky.

Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy Thalia

1537 Broadway at 95th Street, New York, NY
Tickets: advance $25, day of $30, Members $20

-S.K.

FOLKLORE: Lado Folk Dance Ensemble on North American Tour

For those folk dance enthusiasts waiting for Mazowsze or Śląsk to return to the U.S., there is another Eastern European folk dance company that can fit the bill. Lado National Folk Dance Ensemble of Croatia made its name in the U.S. at the same time Sol Hurok debuted the Polish companies.

Historically the Croatian tribes can be traced to a wide region around Kraków in Poland, in Ukraine, Bohemia, and Austria, thus showing migrations to their future homeland. For those that speak Polish, one will notice similarities with the Croatian language.

LADO Ensemble USA and Canada Tour

To see their complete performance schedule, go to the link website: http://site.croatiagifts.com/LADOTOUR.html

October 9, 2009. | Washington, Strathmore Theater
October 10, 2009. | Washington, Strathmore Theater
October 13, 2009. | New York, St. Patrick's Cathedral
October 14, 2009. | New York, Lincoln Center
October 18, 2009. | Pittsburgh, Byham Theater
October 20, 2009. | Cleveland, Playhouse Theater
October 21, 2009. | Chicago, The Harris Theater
October 25, 2009. | Montreal, Place des Arts
October 26, 2009. | Ottawa, Centerpointe Theatre
October 30, 2009. | Toronto, Roy Thomson

Founded in 1949, this brilliant company of dancers, singers, and musicians bring centuries of tradition to life, in swirling, spectacular performances—a vivid living museum that features more than 1200 costumes, some more than 100 years old.

– Staś Kmieć

ART: Hanna Bakula Book signing and Art Exhibition - NYC