Poetry Festival for Children Wierszowisko is organised for students of community schools affiliated to the Association Forum Polish Schools in the Netherlands [FSPN: Forum Polskich Szkół w Holandii], which is the representative of all existing in the Netherlands, Polish community schools. To participate in this year’s edition of Wierszowsiko we invited nearly 600 students from 16 member schools.
On the stage in Wijchen will present nearly 100 students from 9 schools from across the country. We are pleased to see that in al of the applications the same names appear of the participants who took a part in Wierszowisko one year, two years or even six years ago. Our students return to Wierszowisko with pleasure, becoming bolder and better reciting poems. Group performances prepared by the schools are the results of work of the whole team – children, teachers, parents. Beautiful decor, thoughtful costumes, choreography, played by children music, all this makes the performances of theatrical spectacles that are watched with pleasure.
The level of performances is often so aligned that the judges have a difficult task to determine the winner. This year, the jury of the contest will be the representatives from FPSN Polish organisations in the Netherlands and visitors from Poland. Over the past few years, the president of the jury was a senator Barbara Borys-Damięcka. This year we invited a guest from Kraków, actor, director, director of the People’s Theatre from Nowa Huta Mr. Senator Jerzy Fedorowicz. He accepted the invitation with pleasure, because for years he has been working on behalf of children and young people, supporting Polish organisations and, of course, he is keenly interested in theater projects. On the eve of Wierszowiska we plan to organise a meeting with Mr. Fedorowicz. Meeting details will appear on our website.
Wierszowisko is the biggest event for the Polish students from the Netherlands. We strive to make it a special event, memorable for the participants. Any performing child gets a medal, certificate of participation, a gift. The winners receive a beautiful and wise Polish children’s books. For all this every year looking for funding. Both our member schools and the Forum of the Polish Schools in the Netherlands are a non-profit organiations, without permanent funding and grants. The event, year-round work of the schools are only possible thanks to the work of volunteers who dedicate to Polish schools their own social time, energy, enthusiasm in their spare time once being employed next to it. For this a huge thanks to everyone involved in the work of our schools, Forum Polish Schools in the Netherlands and Wierszowisko.
This year’s Festival will be held on the March 13 at the Wijchen Theatre . Preparations in schools and organisers already underway for several months. We hope that Wierszowisko 2016 will be a true celebration of Polish poetry for our children, for their families.
We invite you to visit our websites and to track news on our social networks: Wierszowisko | Forum Polskich Szkół w Holandii | FB
Interested in cooperation or granting support, please contact: info@fpsn.nl
Photo © Małgorzata Lubbers-Dąbrowska
