A Cultural Exp ERIE nce

The Town of Erie has a variety of staff members who are from different countries and cultures. One day, walking toward the front desk at the Erie Community Center I saw three staff members all working together and all from different countries. At that moment, the idea came to me that we needed to showcase the different countries and cultures represented among our staff.

Karina Wlodarczak, Assistant Coordinator – Facility Operations, was the first employee eager to showcase her home culture. Karina is from Poland and had many connections here in Colorado to help make this event spectacular. We began the journey of planning the event together. The goal of the cultural event was to entertain and educate, and to be open to all ages. The event was two hours and included Polish folk dancers,

Krakowiacy, Polish folk singers and musicians, Swojskie Dziołchy, education on Poland which included Polish famous people, fun facts about Poland, history of Bolesławiec ceramics, Polish traditions, and basic Polish words and phrases, presented by Malgorzata Grondalski, St. Joseph Polish School Principal, and sampling Polish cuisine which included Pierogies, Kielbasa and a pastry.

The Polish Folk Dance Krakowiacy group, was founded in October 2002 at the St. Joseph Polish Church in the neighborhood of Globeville in downtown Denver, which 100 years ago was the center of the Polish pioneer community. The group shares the rich heritage of Poland by performing traditional Polish dances. The name Krakowiacy is the polish term for people from Krakow. Polish folk dances are lively and joyful, and usually involve hops and twirls, but vary by region. The group performed dances from ten different regions, and all of the costumes, shoes and accessories are handmade and shipped directly from Poland.

The Polish folk singers and musicians, Swojskie Dziołchy, was founded in 2014 as a support group to the Krakowiacy. The main goal of Dziołchy is to help with dance performances and make the time between dances and costume changes more pleasant for the audience. Over the nine years, the group has grown and cooperates with local musicians and can be heard at various Polish community events.

The event was truly spectacular. Here is one comment from someone that attended the event; “Last Saturday’s Polish cultural event was outstanding, a real home run!! Dancers, singers, sample food, Polish history/culture/traditions education, Q&A, etc. Really, a super night! As always, thank you, Tom”. The audience ranged in age from 2-85, with over 100 people being entertained and learning about Karina’s home. We are looking forward to our next Cultural ExpERIEnce.