Polish Festival Seattle Celebrates The Season With The Spirit And Traditions Of Poland

A special holiday version of Seattle Center Festál: Polish Festival Seattle live streams, 2 p.m.-5 p.m., Sunday, Dec 20, on YouTube and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PolishFestivalSeattle and https://www.facebook.com/SeattleCenter.

The 2020 virtual festival, produced by the local Polish community, offers a glimpse into the rich and colorful culture of Poland and its presence in our region through music, food and spirits, stories and arts & crafts. It also promises to present some surprises throughout the online event.

Given the central place of foods and cooking in Polish culture, Seattle Polish community members will share wide-ranging recipes and methods of preparing traditional dishes. Presenters will reveal the secrets behind beet soup with mushroom dumplings, Polish layered herring salad, cod layered under a root vegetable sauce with spices and seasonings, the famous Polish pierogi and "hunter's stew."

The stream also features traditional dishes made with poppy seeds, dried fruit, honey and noodles; dessert made with wheat berries, poppy seeds, dried fruit and nuts; poppy seed roll; Polish gingerbread cookies decorated with icing; Ambrosia ice cream and more. Viewers will also learn how to make Polish holiday liqueur out of honey, vodka and spices and a popular "apple pie" cocktail prepared by Santa before he heads off to the North Pole.

The virtual festival highlights one of Poland's musical luminaries, Frederick Chopin - and includes a little Polish Christmas song hidden in a Chopin Scherzo. Seattle's Polish choir Vivat Musica sings a medley of Polish Christmas songs. Festival friends and local jazz trio Paul Gabrielson (bass), Jeremy Bacon (piano) and Stefan Schatz (drums) plays Cicha Noc (Silent Night) and a Polish rock band from the north, HEY ZIUTA, also joins in the virtual music making.

Viewers may also gather their watercolors and follow along in a Cardinal bird painting demonstration and watch the making of a "spiderweb" ornament made of straw; and they can follow along with the creation of a Polish papercut Christmas card, favorite Polish ornament or 16-sided Polish papercut star.

Learn more at: https://polishfestivalseattle.org

Seattle Center Festál highlights the culturally rich communities who help shape the character and course of our region. The series, presented virtually in 2020, provides a forum for cultural groups to come together, where they can share their stories with the greater community--and where all can feel a sense of belonging. The series began in 1997 to offer a central place for festivals to invite the public to join in their unique cultural expression.

Seattle Center presents Festál: Polish Festival Seattle in partnership with Seattle Polish Foundation as part of a series that provides a stage and platform for the traditions and accomplishments of the participating communities. Admission is free of charge. For more information, visit www.seattlecenter.com/festal or call 206-684-7200.

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