WILNO – On May 2, hundreds made their way to the Wilno Heritage Park and Museum to celebrate the 17th annual Kashub Day, in recognition of local heritage and culture.
For 17 years now, descendants of the first Kashubian and Polish settlers have made their way to the park to enjoy a day of good food, drink, music, and to celebrate their unique heritage and culture. Kashub Day in 2014 was a wet and rainy day, but the sun was shining bright this year, and the crowd was out in full force.
A special guest made the trip from Ottawa to participate in the day’s events, and had flown in to the city from even further away. Aleksandra Kucy, a consul from the Polish Embassy in Ottawa, had only been in Canada for two weeks before making the trip to Wilno.
“I really like maple syrup,” said Kucy with a laugh. “I think it’s a beautiful country, and very friendly. This is very important, to feel this welcome.”
The Wilno Heritage Society extended an invitation, which the embassy happily accepted.
“In the embassy, we consider this one of the most important heritage events,” shared Kucy.
Kashub Day also fell a day before the Polish Constitution Day, as well as the Day of St. Mary. In recognition of this, Kucy presented the Heritage Society with a Polish national flag, which was raised in the park alongside the Canadian and Kashubian flags.
Following this, Father Wojciech Blach of St. Mary’s Church delivered a prayer, and the national anthems of Kashubia, Poland and Canada were played, officially kicking off Kashub Day.
Get your May 6, 2015 edition of The Valley Gazette to read the full story.