Issue XLVII February, 2013 Upcoming Events February 11, 2013 General Meeting at 12:00 pm March 12, 2013 General Meeting at 6:00 pm at White Eagle March 24, 2013 Palm Sunday Luncheon at Avalon Banquets April 8, 2013 General Meeting at 12:00 pm May 14, 2013 General Meeting at 6:00 pm at White Eagle Speedy Recovery to Teresa Buckner and Stephanie Kunas Deepest condolences to family and friends on the passing of our member Julia Jewett. Learn About Polish Pottery Stoneware You are invited to PWCC’s general meeting on February 11, 2013. The meeting will be at White Eagle, 6839 N. Milwaukee Ave, Niles, IL. would wake up at 3 am for the short drive to Poland to be at the factories when they opened. After collecting mugs and dessert plates on her first trip, she was hooked! The schedule is: 12:00 p.m.– Guest speaker, After moving back to the United States in 2001, lunch, and general meeting. Rebecca wanted to share her Our guest speaker for this love of Polish pottery with meeting is Rebecca Tutaj others. More Polish Pottery Gengler from the More is located at a former Polish Pottery. nursery featuring ornamental More Polish Pottery was grasses and Hostas. opened in July 2011. More Polish Pottery features Rebecca's love affair with a wide assortment of Polish pottery began when Ceramika Artstyczna made she was a military wife stain Bolewslawiec, Poland. tioned in Germany. She The store is located on a country road, which boasts many types of butterflies that are attracted to the ornamental grasses, perennial plants, and prairies. Polish Pottery stoneware patterns are typically inspired by natural plants and flowers found in Poland. This meeting is open to members, prospective members, and guests. The price per person is $17. Please RSVP before February 8th to: Karen Kazlow 773.467.1504 Palm Sunday is Just a Hop, Skip, & a Jump Away! The Palm Sunday Luncheon is taking place March 24th at the Avalon Banquets, 1905 East Higgins Road, Elk Grove Village. The children’s baskets, being coordinated by Karen Kozlow and her committee, are not the only great baskets at this event. We will This large-scale event for the also have exceptional raffle baskets and prizes for our PWCC raises a big portion more mature guests, as well of funds for our scholaras other fun surprises, ships. As in previous years, including beverage sampling we are focusing on making and a photo booth to help this a great experience for not only our adult guests but capture the memories of the also their children and grand- event. children! The youngest We are looking forward to guests can count on excep- having many of the 2012 tional baskets, a clown, a visit scholarship recipients selling from the Easter Bunny and tickets, helping with basket more. Activities are also distribution, and even being a planned for the older part of the children and children and teenagers. teenage activities. This is a great opportunity for you to meet these accomplished students! WE NEED MEMBER DONATIONS OF UNUSED ITEMS AND GIFT CERTIFICATES!! We will be sending solicitation letters asking for merchandise donations or gift cards for our raffle. Think about donating items as things that you would like to receive. Mark your calendars for this event AND tell your friends and family! We will send an invitation and an easy-to-forward email to everyone! Grandmother and Grandfather You probably celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, but what about Grandparents? Grandma and Grandpa deserve their special days, too. In Poland, January 21st and 22nd are devoted to honoring them. Polish Grandmother’s and Grandfather’s Day are family events. Schools and kindergartens honor grandparents with special celebrations. Families enjoy small, private gatherings. It is time to give back at least some of that devotion and love received straight from grandma’s or grandpa’s heart. Think about your grandparents, about the things they have done for you over the years like making you cookies, taking care of you while you’re sick, or teaching you how to do different things. You can probably think of lots of things. Now is the time to thank them. If your grandparents are Polish and you want to let them know it in their native language how much you care about them. Reprinted from the Polish Language Blog Support PWCC at Carson’s Community Days Carson’s is sponsoring their Community Days on March 1& 2, 2013. As a 501(c)3 organization we can participate by selling the event booklets for $5 and the club gets to keep the entire amount. You can purchase the booklets now by calling Barbara Marquart at 847.640.9910. You can also purchase the booklet at Carson’s, but make sure you specify PWCC as the organization to receive the credit. (1) 30% Early bird coupon, valid 6am-10am on Saturday, November 10th. Each booklet is filled with great saving coupons and exclusive bonus offers including : Go to http://www.communitydayevent.com/ index.php to find out more about this event and to find the store nearest you. (16) Merchandise offers: Customers must have the coupon to receive the special pricing on these offers. (2) Web Exclusive Offers You can use the coupons in all Carson’s stores in The Community Days are one way an organization the Chicagoland area or any of the family stores; Bon-Ton, Elder-Beerman, Bergner's, Boston Store, can raise important funds. If PWCC sells 200 Herberger's, Younkers, and Parisian. booklets, we raise $1000 painlessly. (1) Coupon worth $10 off on a $10 or more item. (1) Tiered shopping pass for 20%/15%/10% off each regular or sale priced item. This is a painless fundraiser—just buy a book for $5, receive a booklet full of coupons, then use them on March 1 & 2nd in-store or on the web. Seventy Fourth Annual White and Red Ball The Legion of Young Polish Women requests the honor of your presence at the Seventy Fourth Annual White and Red Ball and Introduction of Debutantes for 2013 on Saturday, February 16, 2013 at the Grad Ballroom, Hilton Chicago, 720 South Michigan Ave. Debutante receiving line and reception at 6:45 pm, dinner at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $175 per person. Respond before February 4, 2013 to Bozenna Haszlakiewicz at 847.902.0406. Visit us at pwcci.org or polishwomenscivicclub.org Contact us at pwcci@msn.com A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT: Contact information for Ann Burzycki E-mail: pwcci@msn.com Serving the Polish Community since 1924 President Ann Burzycki Vice President Barbara Marquart Recording Secretary Lenore Fuesz Corresponding Secretary Marcia Zurawski Treasurer Alicia Dutka Directors Ann Burzycki Barbara Marquart Alicia Dutka Lucille Gutowski Geraldine Balut Coleman Dr. Geraldine Balut Coleman has accepted the position of Chair of the PWCC's Scholarship Committee. She is an experienced academic and has worked on several not-for-profit scholarship committees. We are excited to have her leading this important mission! We received a thank you letter from Sr. Ann Schaffer from St. Stanislaus Kostka Soup Kitchen. A great way to start the Lenten Season is to perform some act of kindness and what is a better way of showing you care then by donating to Sr. Ann Schaffer. We asking everyone who will be attending the February meeting to bring non perishable food item, supplies such as soap, Kleenex or what better than cash for St. Stanislaus Soup Kitchen. We will have a basket for the donations near the greeting desk. Please donate food items that have not expired, are new or in the original package. A board member will take the items to St. Stanislaus Kostka that day. February’s guest speaker will be Rebecca Tutaj Gengler from More Polish Pottery. She will give us a presentation on how Ceramika Artystyczna is made, why it is so popular and why once you purchase a piece you want more. Read more about our guest speaker on page 1. Palm Sunday occurs in March this year, and we’ve started planning our largest fundraiser of the year. Kathleen Burzycki is already planning a different look to Palm Sunday. We will have the usual clown and Easter Bunny for the children, but this year we will also have crafts for the older children. WE NEED MEMBERS TO HELP US MAKE THIS EVENT A SUCCESS! Bring new, unused items and gift certificates to our February meeting, Printed invitations AND an email that can be forwarded will be sent to you all soon. Sergeant Robert Tornabene spoke at the January General Meeting. He gave tips in safety awareness, self-defense training, escape, pepper spray, home invasions, avoiding a car-jacking, travel tips and safety on the internet. The members and guests enjoyed his informative presentation. On a side note, he was interviewed on TV after being involved in a robbery case that same day. March general meeting will be in the evening. We are considering several options for a guests speaker. One option is a chocolatier, another is someone to talk about the different teas, spices or even a person who will give a stained glass hands-on presentation. You will find out in next month’s newsletter who is available for the March date. We live in a time of declining membership in many organizations and clubs. PWCC has been fortunate to have Elizabeth Glowa and Bozena Kimkowski-Sitarz join us at the January’s meeting, they will be installed in September. Our mission statement, events, and especially the women of our organization really help us continue to attract members. Please make all new members and guests feel welcome at our meetings and functions. The dates of the events and meetings are listed on page 1. Please note that 3 of the general meetings are being held on a TUESDAY EVENING! Members who are unable to attend daytime meetings will now have a chance to be a part of the action! Visit us at pwcci.org or polishwomenscivicclub.org Let’s make 2013 a great year for the PWCC, its members, and our scholarship recipients!! Polish Folk Group Mazowsze Folk culture was for some time, when Poland did not exist on the map, perceived as the tool to keep the national identity. The artists, so much avoiding the theme of poor citizens, started to make the villagers main characters of their works. In the time of technical development, when citizens of villages would flee to cities in search of better life conditions, folk culture was in danger. Although we live nowadays in the world of internet, cheap flights and mobile phones, although folk culture seems not to be fashionable at all, there are still some people who try to keep it and promote it. music from all over Poland. Already a year later Mazowsze started their world tour reaching Soviet Union and later on giving concerts in France and United States of America. Throughout the years there have been many outstanding individuals that started their career in Mazowsze Folk Group (i.e. actors and actresses). The ensemble consists of ballet, choir and orchestra. The group has given out already 6.5 thousand Although Mazowsze the concerts during over 200 tournée around the Polish Song and Dance world and performed in almost 200 places of Ensemble was created by the Poland. The melodies used by Mazowsze come decree of Ministry of Culture from approximately 40 ethnic parts of Poland but and Art in 1948, its idea was born much before. now the group tends to use also music from other During bombing of Warsaw in WW II two people countries. In the place that gave the beginning of –Tadeusz Sygietyński (great composer and Mazowsze ensemble – palace of Karolin – there lover of folk culture) and Mira Zimińskaare plans to form European Centre for Promotion Sygietyńska (actress)– promised each other that of Regional and National Culture. The centre aims if they survive the war they will found a folk group. at educating of future culture educators from all Together with their two other friends, they around the world. started to search for folk clothes, music and gifted Mazowsze ensemble is, however, not only about youth. They gathered young members of the songs and dance. It is also about beautiful national group in the palace called Karolin, nearby Warsaw. (or more precisely regional) costumes used in After 2 years, in 1950, the group was ready to give accordance with music. It shows the richness and their first performance on the stage of Polish beauty of folk culture and gets wider audience Theatre in Warsaw. At first their repertoire was closer to the world that is known now mostly based on folk music and dances from Central from movies and books. Poland but with time they started to use folk Reprinted from the Polish Language Blog Polish American Association Celebrates the Family! The Polish American Association Celebrates the Family in honoring former Board Chairman Robert J. Paszczak on Sunday, February 10, 2013 at the White Eagle Restaurant, 6839 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Niles, IL. Reception 3:00 pm, Family Dinner 4:00 pm, Cash Bar & Raffle to follow. Art & sport activities, amazing shows for Children of all ages. Tickets are $50 for adults, $25 for children ages 2-12. Respond before January 28, 2013 by calling 773.427.6307. Visit us at pwcci.org or polishwomenscivicclub.org Contact us at pwcci@msn.com