Polish artists from across the province of Nova Scotia recently showcased their work at a special heritage celebration in Windsor. The Nova Scotia Society of Polish Artists commemorated the contributions of Polish immigrants to Canadian culture at an art show at the Windsor Golf Center May 18-22. The event, organized by Dr. Teresa Machel, featured eighteen artists representing various mediums. The celebration focused on 265 years of Polish immigration to Canada - the first immigrant arrived in 1752 - and the impact artists have had on the country.

The Polish Embassy in Ottawa and the Nova Scotia Minister of Communities, Culture and Heritage were the major sponsors of the event.

See pictures...

Consul Kucy from the Polish Embassy in Ottawa met with the Mayor of HRM, Mike Savage and Councillor Lorelei Nicoll to continue the process of twinning Halifax and Gdynia (Poland). This has been initiated by the Honorary Consul Jan Skora almost two years ago and partially implemented. The Immigration Museum at Pier 21 in Halifax established a vibrant and a very effective contact with the Museum of Emigration in Gdynia. The Polish Navy Museum has engaged with the newly proposed Battle of the Atlantic Museum in Halifax. Consul Kucy also discussed exchange opportunities with universities in Poland.

Another great social event organized by the Polish Canadian Society of Nova Scotia (PCSNS). Around 45 participants, both new and familiar faces of all ages, including many young families enjoyed the horse sleigh ride at Hatfield Farms.

PCSNS came to life in December 2014. It engages Poles and Canadians with connection or interest in Polish culture to celebrate and promote the Polish-Canadian presence in Nova Scotia. Anyone who is interested in Polish culture can get involved in the initiatives organized by PCSNS regardless of their heritage or language proficiency.

Follow PCSNS on their Facebook account to stay upated about future events.

2016 marks the 98th anniversary of Poland's Independence regained on November 11, 1918 after 123 years of partitions by neighbouring totalitarian countries. The Polish community celebrated the anniversary to respect and recognize thousands of people who lost their lives in the struggle for independence. The event took place at the University of King's College in Halifax.

This year anniversary was attended by many honoured guests - Charge d'affaires Polish Embassy in Ottawa, Mr. Lukasz Weremiuk, Consul of the Republic of Poland in Ottawa Mrs. Aleksandra Kucy, Colonel Cezary Kiszkowiak, Defence, Military, Naval and Air Attache of the Republic of Poland to Canada Honourable Lena Diab, Minister of Immigration of Nova Scotia, Honorary Consuls in Nova Scotia and members of local community. See pictures...

The evening featured a screening of a movie "Karbala". The movie is based on true story portraying the absolute bravery of Polish soldiers in a battle that took place during the holy day of Ashura in April 2004, when the Shiites of Karbala rose up against the US-led multinational forces, which included a Polish contingent. The confrontation took place at Karbala's City Hall, where the allied forces had their headquarters. It is rather the story about people who were thrown into extreme conditions and didn't expect to fight with such intensity, but they overcame their fear and just persevered to the end. This was the largest battle in which Polish soldiers had participated after the end of World War II.

The Polish - Canadian Society of Nova Scotia invites you and a guest to attend the 2nd Polish Film Festival in Halifax.

'Peter and the Wolf'(Suzie Templeton, 2006)
Family film screening is FREE and will include activities for children. It is appropriate for school-aged children and up.
In this adaptation of Sergei Prokofiev's symphonic narrative, beautifully crafted stop-motion animation replaces Prokofiev's narrator, and a twenty-first century ending challenges viewers to think about humans' relationship with nature. The film, which was made in Lodz at Se-ma-for Studios, won the Oscar for best animated short.

'Bogowie' (Lukasz Palkowski, 2014)
Reception to follow.
Tickets at the door: $5 for one or $8 for two movies.
Zbigniew Religa performed the first successful heart transplant in Poland in 1987 - a grueling, 23-hour operation considered almost impossible at the time. This award-winning dramatization explores Religa's struggles against ethical objectors, bureaucracy, and lack of funding in a complex era, capturing the intensity of the operating room, the energy and even the arrogance of this medical trailblazer. In Polish with English subtitles. This film is sponsored by the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Halifax and the Polish Embassy of Poland in Ottawa.

'Demon' (Marcin Wrona, 2015)
Reception to follow.
Tickets at the door: $5 for one or $8 for two movies.
This chilling, uncanny film is based on the Jewish tale of the dybbuk, the spirit of a deceased person who possesses a living one. It is part historical allegory, part bloodless horror film, part family drama, and part black comedy. This Polish-Israeli co-production is as engaging as it is artistically powerful. In Polish, English, and Yiddish with English subtitles.

The Nova Scotia Legislature honours Consul Skora for his dedicated contributions to promoting cultural and economic ties between Poland and Nova Scotia as well as for his achievements in the field or architecture and urban planning in Nova Scotia.

Every year Consul Skora organizes and contributes to a variety of events related to the Polish - Canadian relationship. Some of the examples are twinning of City of Halifax with City of Gdynia, Poland, co-operation and information exchange between sister ships ORP "BLYSKAWICA" and HMCS "SACKVILLE" and many others.

The award ceremony was hosted by the Minister of Immigration of Nova Scotia, Hon. Lena Diab who handed in the recognition awards to outstanding Nova Scotians for their continuous effort to the success of the province.

Honorary Consul Jan Skora pays tribute to two polish aviators laid to rest at the Moncton cemetary in New Brunswick, Canada. Please contact me if you can help find some relatives in Poland of these men.

INCIDENT REPORT:
On the evening of May 7, 1943, fourteen Ansons, twin-engine bombers, took off from RCAF Station Chatham on a training exercise. The weather was clear at the time but a heavy fog rolled in shortly after the exercise began. Two Ansons ran out of fuel over water and one ditched into Miramichi Bay near Bay du Vin and one near Bathurst, drowning two trainees. Another made a forced landing on a highway near Bathurst and all survived.

The aircraft with the two Polish aviators, Major Andrzej Markiewicz and Lieutenant Mieczyslaw Glod, crashed into a hill near Elgin, New Brunswick, killing the two Polish trainees and the instructor. The pilot survived. The crash occurred in the early morning hours of May 8.

The Battle of Britain, which started in the fall of 1940, involved the British Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and also airmen from: Poland, Australia, Barbados, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Ireland, Jamaica, Newfoundland, New Zealand, Rhodesia, South Africa and the United States.

International delegates arrived in Dieppe for the ceremony. Hon. Consul Jan Skora laid a wreath to commemorate 145 Polish pilots who fought in the battle on behalf of Polish government.

The last Polish pilot from the Battle of Britain, Brigadier General Tadeusz Sawicz, died in October 2012 in Toronto.

Thanks to incredible support and hard work by many people, St. Mary's Polish Church in Whitney Pier, Nova Scotia, the only Polish church in Atlantic Canada, has re-opened after the fire in 2014.

Established in 1913, the church is the centre of Cape Breton's Polish community, one of the longest-standing Polish communities in Canada.

The Open House took place on Sunday, June 26, 2016 and the official Mass of Consecration was held on Sunday, July 3, 2016. Everyone was welcome to see the beautiful church including the Polish community in Halifax.

See pictures....

Another great event organized by the Polish Canadian Society of Nova Scotia and the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Nova Scotia.

Hon Consul, Jan Skora, provided remarks on the occasion of 225th anniversary of adoption of the Constitution of May 3, the first written constitution in modern Europe and the second in the world, after America's. He also handed a commemorative medal for the 70th Anniversary of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising awarded by the Polish Government to Mr. Zahorski.

The Polish Canadian Society of Nova Scotia prepared a wonderful program to celebrate their achievements in preserving Polish history, culture and traditions with an added Polish - Canadian focus. There are about 1 Million people of Polish decent curently living in Canada. In February of 2002, the Senate of the Republic of Poland adopted a resolution setting aside May 2nd as a day to honor the worldwide Polonia.

The event was attended by: Lieutenant Governor J.J Grant and Mrs. Grant, Hon Lena Diab, Minister of Immigration on behalf of Premier Stephen McNeil, Hon Michael MacDonald, Chief Justice of Nova Scotia, Hon Tony Ince, Minister of Communities, Culture and Heritage, Mike Savage, Mayor of Halifax, Matt Whitman, Deputy Mayor of Halifax, representatives of the Consular Corps of Nova Scotia, members of Polish and Canadian community. See pictures....

At the invitation of the Honorary Polish Consul in Halifax, Jan Skora, the Battle of the Atlantic Society participated in a study tour of Polish Museums in October 2015. The main goal was to establish a relationship between Polish ORP 'Blyskawica', the oldest preserved destroyer in the world, and Canadian HMCS 'Sackville', both being historic ships and of cultural significance to their respective navies.

As a result of the visit, Cdr Lubkowski, CO of ORP 'Blyskawica' and Lt Cdr Jarosz, Deputy Commander of the Sailing Training Center of the Polish Navy visited Halifax May 16 - 21, 2016 to pursue this goal and present the future ways of cooperation between both countries and represent Poland's contribution to the Battle of the Atlantic in the new Battle of the Atlantic Place museum destined to be built on the Halifax waterfront. See pictures of the visit and Press Release.

At the initiative of the Honorary Consul, Jan Skora, the City of Halifax and the City of Gdynia, Poland started preparing for declaring both cities as "sister" cities. A delegation from Halifax travelled to Poland in October 2015 to establish initial contact. As a result of the visit the Mayor of Gdynia accepted the proposal in an official letter to Mike Savage, Mayor of Halifax.

A meeting with Mayor Mike Savage took place on May 13, 2016 to plan future potential cooperation between both cities in the economic and cultural areas. The existence of the Emigration Museum in Gdynia and the Canadiann Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax proves that the possible cooperation holds a huge potential.

The European Union Centre of Excellence with the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies at Dalhousie University, in conjunction with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Ottawa and the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Halifax organized the talk about the Road to the NATO Warsaw Summit in July 2016, how to strengthen NATO and enhance European security. About 80 guests participated in this seminar.

The speaker was Robert Kupiecki, Former Poland's Deputy Minister of National Defence, Former Ambassador to the United States of America, Former Deputy Ambassador to NATO and currently Professor in the Institute of International Relations, National Defence University Warsaw, Poland.

The Polish Embassy in Ottawa has asked me to present a proposal to the Polish Canadian Society of Nova Scotia (PCSNS) to assume the honorary patronage over the grave of Prof. Stanislaw Swianiewicz located in Sackville, Nova Scotia. I would like to inform you that the proposal has been accepted by PCSNS at their last meeting on March 19, 2016.

For those of you who are not familiar with his life and achievements, you can read more information about Professor Stanislaw Swianiewicz here.

I also encourage you to read about another outstanding Polish historian, Professor Stanislaw Bóbr-Tylingo, a person very well known to a lot of us and visit his grave which is also located in Sackville.

Please see the location of both graves.

The screening of the Polish movies covering the achievements of Polish cinematography in the period of 1945 to 1989 will take place in Halifax during the months of February and March 2016. This is the full list of films. The program was organized by Prof. Fred Young, with the support of the Honorary Consul of Poland in Halifax.

I encourage you to register for this program, especially because we do not often have a chance to see such films in cinema format in Halifax. If you have additional questions please contact SCANS at info@theSCANS.ca or (902) 444-7588.