This year PACT will have a shopka in the Toledo Holiday Parade. (From PolAmJournal.com) by Stas Kmiec Mention the word szopka (creche) or jaselka (nativity play) to someone born in Poland long ago, and you will see a spark of joy light up in their eyes. They recall the live nativity scenes, puppet shows, pageant plays and shimmering fairy tale castle-like scenes of their youth. The Christmas creche is common to all of the Christian faith, but the szopka is unique to Poland. The szopka, once a humble peasant…
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Wigilia Traditions
Wilgilia Tradition When the first star, known as the Gwiazdka, appears in the eastern sky, the Christmas tree is lit and that is when the feast to commemorate the birth of the Christ Child begins.
Read MoreOctober is Polish Heritage Month!
October “Polish American Heritage Month” A National Celebration of Polish History, Culture and Pride in Cooperation with the Polish American Congress and Polonia across America Since 1608, when the first Polish settlers arrived at Jamestown, VA, Polish people have been an important part of America’s history and culture. In 2014, Polish Americans will mark the 33rd Anniversary of the founding of Polish American Heritage Month, an event, which began in Philadelphia, PA, and became a national celebration of Polish history, culture and pride. During 2014, Poles will mark the 406th Anniversary of the…
Read MorePolish Cinema Series at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor
Presented with support from the Copernicus Program in Polish Studies. This series of restored classic Polish films has been organized and curated by Martin Scorsese, one of the most recognized and respected filmmakers in the world, and is the largest presentation of restored Polish cinema to date. 9/8: The Last Day of Summer & Innocent Sorcerers 9/15: Night Train 9/22: A Short Film About Killing 9/29: Jump 10/6: The Illumination 10/13: The Saragossa Manuscript 10/20: Pharaoh 10/27: Mother Joan of the Angels 11/3: Ashes and Diamonds 11/10: The Hourglass Sanatorium 11/17: Austeria 11/24: Black Cross 12/1: The Promised Land 12/8: Man of Iron Below are…
Read MorePACT Launches Capital Campaign at Polka Picnic
Pictured: City Councilman Tom Winiewski, PACT President Stan Machosky, Toledo Mayor Michael Collins and PACT Vice-President, Matt Zaleski. From the Toledo Blade, Monday, August 11, 2014: The second annual Polka Party Picnic offered far more than the expected polka dancing and kielbasa meal at St. Hyacinth Catholic Church on Sunday afternoon. At the event, the Polish -American Community of Toledo, or PACT, announced plans to launch a $1million capital campaign to raise funds to establish a Toledo area Polish-American Community Center. “A major issue is that the churches formed by some of the…
Read MorePACT’s Capital Campaign for a Polish Community Center
http://www.toledoblade.com/Culture/2014/08/11/Poles-set-sights-on-1M-center.html In 2009, a group of Poles gathered at Ski’s Restaurant to address some of the needs of the local Polish community. Like some of the other area ethnic groups in the Toledo area, the Poles were witness to a dying heritage, with their old Polish neighborhoods becoming blight-ridden and once popular churches closing. Certainly the future looked bleak. To address these issues and more, the group formed a new Polish organization — The Polish-American Community of Toledo (PACT). Five years later a lot has changed for the Toledo Poles.…
Read MoreUT Press Publishes New Book on Toledo’s Polish Community
American Originals: Northwest Ohio’s Polish Community at Home, Work, Worship, and Play is the latest book to be published by the University of Toledo Press. The 258 page work presents a glimpse into the history of one of Toledo’s most important ethnic groups. “The book is a mix of the broader themes that have shaped our community with the actual lives that Polish-Americans recall–sometimes remembered with pain, more often with joy, and always with the respect for the accomplishments of the families, friends and neighbors,” said Timothy Borden, editor of…
Read More2014 Scholarship Winners are Announced
Congratulations to this year’s PACT/TPA scholarship winners! They are: College category: Jessica Pietrasz Jessica Pietrasz, age 18, of Rossford, Ohio who will be attending Youngstown State University this fall. She is also the recipient of YSU’s Red & White Scholarship. She is active in cross country, volleyball, basketball, track and student council. Jessica will receive the Martin A. Blaszczyk scholarship. It is awarded to the “best” submission as determined by the judges. Martin A. Blaszczyk was the editor of the Lagrange Street News, a monthly newspaper that connected residents and…
Read MoreKielbasa Cook Off Winners (2016)
The Fourth Annual Kielbasa Cook-Off hosted by The Polish-American Community of Toledo (PACT) raised an estimated $5,000 for PACT’s Capital Campaign to develop a Polish-American Community Center in the Toledo area. At the same time, PACT also announced the start of its on-line efforts — Indiegogo.com — to raise money for the project. Seven teams competed this year. Shawn Zaborski and his team of Polish Village Kielbasa, won the Kielbasa Cook-Off for the third year in a row. They earned the title “Kielbasa King” a trophy, and a check for…
Read MoreOur Lady of Czestochowa
From Catholictraditions.org: The origin of this miraculous image in Czestochowa, Poland is unknown for absolute certainty, but according to tradition the painting was a portrait of Our Lady done by St. John sometime after the Crucifixion of Our Lord and remained in the Holy Land until discovered by St. Helena of the Cross in the fourth century. The painting was taken to Constaninople, where St. Helena’s son, the Emperor Constantine, erected a church for its enthronement. This image was revered by the people of the city. During the siege by…
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