If the word ‘folk’ is associated by someone only with nostalgia, a dusty attic, vague memories and boredom, they should immediately abandon these associations. How much folk culture is alive in the Suwalszczyzna Region and how strongly it is linked to modern developments could be seen and demonstrated on Sunday 15 December. A meeting of creators and enthusiasts of folk culture was held at the headquarters of the Euroregion Niemen Association. The meeting was opened by the Chairman of the Association’s Convention, Cezary Cieślukowski, who summarised six months of implementation of the ‘Suwałki Folk Culture Route (EtnoSuwalszczyzna)’ project. This short time has resulted in the creation of a network of cooperation in the field of folk culture, which is the basis for the construction of the aforementioned trail as a tourist offer. A signpost for further action is the Tourism Product Development Strategy for the traditional culture subjects of Suwałki. It was presented to those gathered by Piotr Kurowski, who joined the team developing the strategy via the zoom platform, which demonstrated well the combination of sentimental themes with digital tools. The importance of capturing artistic output and promoting it in the virtual world was shown by one of the films presented during the meeting. The 10 films and 5,000 photographs that were produced during the task are just a substitute and introduction to the rich world of folk culture of the Suwałki region. Film-maker Michał Sobolewski, a representative of the young generation who became enthralled with the artists and their work while travelling with his lens along the Suwałki folk trail, talked about his fascination with this subject. The blending of tradition and modernity was also mentioned by Alicja Wasilewska and Dr. Krzysztof Snarski during their speeches dedicated to the Christmas traditions we have in the Suwałki Region. The meeting was topped off by a performance by the Pogranicze band, whose history dates back to 1981 and whose leader is Józef Murawski. For all the years of its activity, the band has been painstakingly recreating and including in its repertoire traditional songs, dances and rituals from the Szypliszki commune. Pogranicze has represented its region at many festivals, reviews and meetings in Poland and abroad – winning prestigious awards. Among the most important are awards at the National Festival of Folk Bands and Singers in Kazimierz, in the song category: Baszta – the grand prize, and three first prizes. Thanks to the kindness of Mr Józef Murawski and his commitment, we were able to create a Traditional Music Centre in our premises, where we display testimonies of the artistic achievements of the Pogranicze band and its Leader. We extend our heartfelt thanks to those present with us on this day. We encourage folk artists and lovers of folk art of the Suwałki Region to contact us, to co-create the trail, to promote their profiles and their work.
The public task entitled: “Trail of folk culture of Suwalszczyzna(EtnoSuwalszczyzna)” is financed from the funds of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Podlaskie
