Congratulations to the Southwest Center of Polish Song and Dance on its 34th Annual Recital!

On Sunday, April 28, dancers from all age groups presented their talents on stage at Mother McAuley High School in Chicago. Wesoły Lud Polish Folk Dance Company performed as a special guest of the Center. In this long-standing tradition, young artists celebrated the end of the school year with this special performance, which gives them an opportunity to showcase their choreographic achievements and our beautiful Polish folklore. The audience greatly enjoyed and cheered on Mały Ludek, Wesoły Ludek, Ludziki, Krasnoludki, Młody Ludek, Wesoły Lud I and II. The program included dances and folk songs from Lublin, Nowy Sącz, Śląsk, Kaszuby, Górny Sląsk, Kurpie, Beskid, Kraków, Stara Warszawa as well as a performance of the American-style Polka. The big finale was the song “Niech Żyją Wakacje” (“Long Live Vacation!”) performed by all of the groups. During the recital, the Center also acknowledged its 5 and 10- year members.

Special thanks to: Anna Kraszewski-Winkler – Manager and School Director; Richard Jaminski – Artistic Director and Choreographer; all the dance instructors: Richard Jaminski, Michael Dziadkowiec, Danielle Kroplewski, Rene Kroplewski, Sylvia Kupiec and Camilla Steczek; and their assistants: Weronika Niedzielski, Kacper Kaczmarczyk and Ania Cieplucha.

Dancing in the Southwest Center of Polish Song and Dance is one of the many membership benefits offered by PRCUA. Call us to become a member and to request information about signing up to any of our dance groups.

Members of PRCUA Districts #7, #8 and #9 and their guests celebrated the annual PRCUA Święconka. The event took place on Sunday, March 31^st at the at Candle Light Banquets in Chicago Ridge, IL.

This year’s event was hosted by District #8. Guests were welcomed by District 8 Directors Elizabeth Dynowski and Mirek Cislo. The delicious Easter lunch included the traditional polish soup, “Żurek.” After the meal, Vice President Micheline Jamiński invited everyone to participate in a right-left game. As Mrs. Jaminski read the the Easter-themed text, everyone played the game by passing colored surprise eggs from left to right or right to left. At the end of the game, whoever was in possession of the egg with the Wesołego Alleluja greeting won the Polish basket full of Easter chocolates.

A delicious meal, friendly atmosphere and great companionship made this year’s Święconka a very relaxing and fun celebration of the Easter season and long-awaited spring. The 2019 Święconka was attended by PRCUA President James Robaczewski with his family, Vice President Micheline Jaminski and her husband, Richard, Secretary-Treasurer Agnieszka Bastrzyk with her family, National Directors Anna Krysinski and Joanna Ewa Cholewinski (D-7), Krystyna Lech and James Rustic  (past Directors of D-8), Elizabeth Sadus (D-9), guests from from the Polish Falcons of America, 2019 Cinderella Runner – up Katarzyna Burdzy and 2019 Prince Charming Aleksander Sacinski, members of the Adult Culture Group, Sales Director Robert Fattore, Marketing Director Elżbieta Sawczuk and Naród Polski Executive Editor Lidia Kowalewicz. Special thanks to the PRCUA Wesoły Lud and its artistic director, Richard Jaminski, for a great folk dance performance during the event. For more pictures from the event please visit PRCUA Photo Gallery.

On Saturday, February 23^rd, attendees joined
together in Troy, Michigan, for the 2019 PRCUA Shirley Ann Galanty Michigan
State Ball, which honors the graduates of PRCUA Polish dance schools based in
Michigan. This year saw the celebration of twelve talented young people: Alexis
Assenmacher, Kennedy Babicz, Faith Brandt, Maximilian Chabowski, Benjamin
Czarnota, Michael Federico, Grace Gutierrez, Brendan Lubiarz, Tapanga Makowski,
Alexandria Middleton, Zachary Palencik, and Katie Sigler. One of the highlights
of the evening was the drawing of winners for the State Ball Scholarship, which
was presented to Kennedy Babicz, Grace Gutierrez, Brendan Lubiarz, Alexandria
Middleton, and Tapanga Makowski.

The Ball was attended by PRCUA National President James Robaczewski, National Vice President Micheline Jaminski, and National Secretary-Treasurer Agnieszka Bastrzyk. Many thanks to the organizers for a beautiful evening and congratulations to all of the graduates!

On Sunday, December 2, 2018,  PRCUA members from District 9 met at the traditional Opłatek. The event was held at Casa Maria in Dyer, Indiana by District Director Elizabeth Sadus and St.Raphael Kalinowski School. Over 200 guests along with the new National Officers James Robaczewski, Micheline Jaminski and Agnes Bastrzyk, gathered to celebrate the Polish tradition which is to share the Opłatek called “Bread of Love” and exchange well wishes for Christmas and the coming year. After lunch, the parents and dancers from “Mała Polska,” students of Kalinowski Polish language school dressed in traditional folk costumes and invited the guests for their Christmas Performance picturing the Birth of Jesus in the Stajenka. The choreography to the beautiful Christmas story, songs and carols was prepared by Agata Wilgocki. At the end of the Opłatek gathering, there was an unexpected Santa visit which included gifts. The afternoon was full of joy and excitement. Thank you to District 9 for hosting this event and all participants! For more pictures from the event please visit our website Gallery and social media.

To celebrate October Polish Heritage Month, PRCUA is hosting its annual coloring contest! This contest  is open to PRCUA members from 3 to 18 years old. Use crayons, pencils, markers or paint (no fabric, sequins, or glitter, etc.). The simpler picture is designed for children ages 3-12 and the more difficult image for ages 13-18. 1st & 2nd place prizes will be awarded in each age category and the 1^st place artwork will be featured on the PRCUA Christmas card. All other prizes are age-appropriate and include a certificate of achievement. DEADLINE: Entries must be received at the Home Office by Wednesday, October 31, 2018.

Picture for contestants 3-12 can be found HERE.
Picture for contestants 13-18 can be found HERE.

Please include contestant’s name, full address, grade, age, and society number. Also please indicate any association to a PRCUA language or dance school.

August 10-12              Festival Polonaise – Golf Mill Parking Lot, Niles, IL

August 26                    Polvision and 1030 AM Picnic – Stone Park, IL

August 31-
September 3                Taste of Polonia – Copernicus Center, 5216 W. Lawrence Ave., Chicago, IL

September 16              Polish Fest, Michigan City, IN