Winter Events in Siedlce

Community Highlights Europe Winter Events in Siedlce

We took part in two annual cross processions during our stay here: the 96th (2023) and the 97th (2024) Penitential Rosary March through the streets of Siedlce.
The march ceremony began at 2 p.m. the statue of Saint John Paul II in John Paul II Square and ended at the City Cathedral in Bishop Świrski Street, where a penitential mass started at 4 p.m. The mass was dedicated to the Homeland. The motto of the rosary march was: Love | Truth | Goodness | Honesty | Justice.

We followed the calendar plan of cultural events and decided to attend the Motor Christmas Celebration (“Motor Wigilia” in Polish, “Moto Xmas” for short). It took place in Gen.Władysław Sikorski Square. We came in time for the beginning of the program, which included a lot of interesting activities:

• meeting Santa Claus with gifts for children and photo session with him inside an improvised carriage;
• tasting of traditional Christmas Eve dishes prepared by local Rural Housewives Circles;
• children's carol singing.

The Motor Christmas Celebration was organized by the local automotive associations. It turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to come together, share some Christmas warmth and celebrate the magic of Christmas together.
We saw a motor bike Santa during the MotoXmas festivities.

The City Mayor took the floor and thanked all the organizations and associations that got involved in organizing and holding that wonderful event. He thought we had a great opportunity to integrate, to be together in that pre-holiday time. He was glad that Saint Nicholas would give gifts to all the children waiting there in a long line. Further he wished everybody healthy, peaceful, and blessed family holidays. «And today, he said, let's just have fun». At the end of his speech, the City Mayor once again thanked all the organizers, all the companies and sponsors who got involved in organizing that great event.

We were also glad to attend a concert of a folklore band called Cheremshyna. It is from a border village of Czeremcha located close to the Byelorussian border. The was no entrance fee, we only had to come to Poslasie Concert Hall and get an invitation in time. The concert took place within the framework of the The 1st National Biennale of Photography in Siedlce.

We were interested to see the exhibition of works of creative photographers from Siedlce County. The exhibition took place in Gen.Władysław Sikorski Square behind the Christmas Tree. The municipal cultural centre in Siedlce organized that exhibition while implementing the nationwide biennial of photography "AleBiennale". The official poster of the exhibition read, "Post-competition exhibition „I think ECO - so I will be". The biennale was financed by NextGenerationEU - the National Recovery Plan funded by the European Union.

Sauntering about the city streets, we enjoyed the city illumination that was an exact replica of the prevous year's lights. Anyhow, it was something we were waiting for. We hold "a mini-competion for the best decorated household in the city an its environs". As a result, a household in Steppe Street won the first prize. Congratultions! Good job!

We found out about a unique performance at Andrzej Meżerycki Culture and Arts Center. The entrance was free. The performance was called Mił (ość) (they split the word „love” into two parts. In English it would be „lo (ve), but it would be unreadable). It was created as part of the Inspiration Project of the Mazovian Institute of Culture under the direction of Magda Czabroswho was the first to speak before the start of the performance. According to her, the performance is exceptional. Then she gave the floor to Bartłomiej Ostapczuk, the director of the performance to explain why it was exceptional. Bartłomiej said he had been traveling with the Inspirations Project, which is a workshop project, for many years, and there had already been about 50 appearances. For him, the performance is a combination of various theatrical disciplines: physical pantomime theater, theater of words, musical theatre, songs, and movement - such a mix. Then Bartłomiej Ostapczuk kindly asked the audience to remember one thing that he always tried to emphasize: you interpret each of the performances through the prism of three elements - your sensitivity, your imagination and your personal experiences. Thanks to this, there can be twety different versions of this performance. Gestures, physicality and precision of the movement convey what is beyond words. Combined with the literary richness of the word theatre and the emotional power of song lyric and music, the performance gains multidimensionality, which engages the viewer on an intellectual, emotional and visual level.
As the program of the performance explained, the play was a multi-layered story about the modern man, full of metaphors and symbols that confront emotions, reason and everyday struggles in a world full of expectations and pressures. The character of Boobel is in the center of the performance. He is a “modern everyman”, who faces a lack of acceptance, growing social demands, as well as his own traumas and weaknesses.

The viewer is introduced to Boobel's intimate world - his dreams, fears and emotions, which show the break between the Heart, representing feelings and intuition, and the Mind, which is the embodiment of cold reason and external pressures. We observe the absurdity and dehumanization of the modern work system, and the main character becomes a symbol of an individual lost in a soulless machine.

The actors presented the landscape that transforms into the dark space of the hospital, where Boobel struggles with internal chaos. Other characters also appear, who add emotional depth and show the various experiences of people in difficult life situations. The Voice of the Heart evokes hope and love as a path to internal healing.

This performance is also a story about rebirth, hope and the possibility of finding oneself. Music and poetry permeate every scene, creating a world full of emotions and reflections, where the audience can find their own questions and answers.

On the whole, it is a moving story about the internal conflict, the power of art and the search for meaning in a world full of chaos. They stressed the chief word at the end. That word was "Love", which was repeated many times.

The play was directed by Bartłomiej Ostapczuk. The script was written by Urszula Gotowicka, who was also oe of the actresses on the stage. The music was composed by Robert Protasewicz, who played the main role. No photography was allowed, therefore, I only took picture of the cast at the end.

Cast: Robert Protasewicz, Gabriela Podniesińska, Zofia Chojecka, Maria Pośrednik, Karolina Goławska, Wiktoria Metera, Olga Dzierżanowska, Anna Karbowiak, Urszula Gotowicka, Dorota Kaczorek, Mikołaj Niedziela, Maciej Czapski.

We attended the New Year’s Day concert in the main square. It was great to see and to hear the songs of Marcin Sójka, a popular local singer famous in Siedlce. He performs at all big events in the city. Thanks to the big TV screen, we could see the singer, otherwise it was impossible to approach the stage due to the large crowd of spectators.

It was announced that another popular singer – Cleo – would sing after a half an hour interval, But it was late already, therefore we decided not to wait for her songs and left for home.

Three Kings Parade, as a part of Christmas celebrations, turned out to be a great event as well. It was the city’s 12th Three Kings Parade. It started from St.Stanislaus the Boshop Church on January 6, 2005. We watched the kids sing Polish carols

and met the Three Kings, who appeared at the church entrance to introduce themselves.

The entire parade ended at the entrance to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Blessed Virgin Mary, where there was a live Nativity Scene. All in all, there were seven live scenes during this parade.
The Shepherds live scene:

At the court of King Herod:

During the parade, everybody sang several popular Polish carols with the help of a songbook distributed among the participants, who wanted to join in singing. As we arrived to the Cathedral, we watched the Nativity Scene, listened to the speech of the bishop and of the Deputy City President.

As Bishop Grzegorz Suchodolski said, “We have given Him homage, a sign. Let us be together, let us gather where the name of Jesus is declared and let him truly be among us. The second sign that I have discovered this year is that the African king is white. I do not know if there was a lack of paint or soot, but this is also a sign, because more and more people in Europe are black or yellow, and more and more people from other continents of the world are taking on a different color. It means that the borders are open, it means that we can travel, but it means that some also come to us as refugees and migrants and we are becoming a multicultural society, where skin color, race no longer means where we live and who our neighbor is. Therefore, by accepting Jesus Christ into our lives, we say that there is no longer Jew and Greek, slave and free, but we are all brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. He teaches us to break down all these barriers, and perhaps unintentionally, this sign of the White King from Africa is also an important lesson for us to love one another regardless of the type of skin we have. May it release much goodness and love in us. And just as we recalled that today we journeyed here on the thousandth anniversary of the coronation of the first king of Poland, let us be faithful to the heritage that characterized his acceptance of the crown of a Christian ruler at that time.»

Maciej Nowak, the Deputy Mayor, on behalf of the entire city administration and the Siedlce City Council, extended the best wishes to the city residents and guests and thanked the organizers of the event for that wonderful ceremony. He said everybody was glad to see how much heart the organizers had put into that event. Then he thanked the youth and the children for the beautiful scenes prepared, for the beautiful nativity scene. He wished everybody, on behalf of the city president, and on his own behalf, that this year would be a year of love, hope and faith. «May it be a year of peace and quiet, he said. «May our city develop. May it be a good year for Siedlce and for our entire homeland.» Good words, as always!

This featured blog entry was written by Vic_IV from the blog Our Stay in Poland.
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