Polish Cultural Foundation
Main Events and Activities of 2003

Boston Film Premieres

·         February 2

DZIEŃ ŚWIRA  (“The Day of the Nut”) (viewers 130)

• March 2 and 18

CHOPIN – PRAGNIENIE MIŁOŚCI (“Chopin – Desire for Love”) (viewers 240)

• March 23

EDI (viewers 160)

• November 16 and 23

 Second (PCF) POLISH FILM FESTIVAL IN BOSTON  Within the framework of the festival, three new Polish films (2001-2003) were shown:  STARA BAŚŃ (“The Old Tale”); CZEŚĆ TERESKA (“Hi Tereska”); and, ANIOŁ W KRAKOWIE (“An Angel in Krakow”), the latter being shown with delay on the 13^th of December.  In addition, the festival presented two documentaries:  SWIAT MOICH WUJKOW (“The Way My Uncles Lived”) and DZIECI REWOLUCJI (“Children of the Revolution”)(festival viewers 500).

Exhibits

·         September 27 – December 15

The inauguration of a photographic exhibit entitled “25 Years of the Pontificate of John Paul II” took place at Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish in So. Boston on September 27, 2003.  The exhibit was prepared by PCF in cooperation with Publishing House “Kwadrat” s.c. in Krakow and toured the region for almost three months.  The exhibit appeared at 16 centers (in MA, CT, NY and PA) including: 9 parishes; Central Connecticut University; Boston College (twice); St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NY; American Czestochowa in Doylestown; Polish-American Foundation in CT; and, the Italian-American Center of Culture in Worcester.  The exhibit was viewed by over 20,000 individuals.  It is owned by PCF and is expected to be shown again in the future.

·         October 20-24

Presentation of the exhibit “POLAND” at the International Festival, “One World” at the Bayside Expo Center in Boston.  The Festival was visited by about 12,000 children and youth from American schools.  About two thousand informational leaflets about Poland were passed out.

Miscellaneous

·         February 22

The PCF Board met with the Polish Ambassador, Przemysław Grudzinski and Consul General Agnieszka Magdziak-Miszewska at Café Polonia.  The meeting was preceded by the honored guests visiting the Our Lady of Częstochowa Church and the Saturday School of Polish Language at the Parish.in So. Boston  The visit, which was organized by PCF, included the participation of Honorary Consul of Poland in Boston, Marek Lesniewski-Laas.

·         April 24

PCF participated in a presentation on Poland entitled “A Celebration of Poland” at the JFK Federal Building in Boston.  The presentation was a part of the “2003 European Heritage Program”.

·         April 30

PCF sponsored the performance of the  “Polish Nightingales” (Polskie Słowiki) in Mozart’s Comic Operetta (“Bastien and Bustenne”).  It was organized by the Youth Choir Foundation of Boston and was held in the Arlington Street Church.

·         May 11

In cooperation with the Saturday School of Polish Language, PCF organized a banquet honoring Mother’s Day.  Proceeds from this event went towards the preparation of the Pope’s anniversary exhibit and the needs of the Polish school.

·         June 7-8

PCF sponsored (also financially) a camp for children from Polish schools in the region.  The camp, which was organized to celebrate “Children’s Day”, took place in Palmer, MA.

·         September 13

 PCF organized the first event of the Charitable Drive at the Polish Club in Dorchester.  The charitable dance, raised funds for needy children in Poland.  The collection this year was aimed to help the Children’s Shelter in Kalisz, Poland run by the Sisters of Mercy.    The dance and additional funds collected by mail totaled $3,001 as of December 31, 2003.  The drive is expected to end on February 1, 2004.

·         September 21

PCF participated in the Harvest Festival at the Parish of Our Lady of Częstochowa (OLCz) in So. Bostoninforming visitors about the organization’s programs.

·         November 11 

PCF President, Andrzej Pronczuk, was awarded a medal for his contributions to Polish Culture (“Zasłużony Dla Kultury Polskiej”) by the Polish Ministry of Culture.

Ongoing Activities

·                    In addition to the above cited activities, PCF continuously showed interesting Polish films within the framework of the Youth Film Club (DKF) at OLCz in South Boston.

·                    PCF worked to help the Polish schools (not counting the above mentioned Mother’s Day and Children’s Day activities).  Board Members participated in the School Council in South Boston, funded competition prizes and made donations. 

·                  PCF continuously disseminated basic information about Poland and famous Poles among American students.  As such, this year, it distributed the last of the 4,000 bookmarks that it had previously developed for this purpose.

·                   PCF disseminated information about important cultural events organized for local Polonia, (mainly through email).