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.
About Seattle Center Festál:
This enriching series of 23 ethnic cultural festivals on weekends throughout the year seeks to connect people in ways that build understanding, dispel stereotypes and generate pride among the generations who participate in these shared experiences. Seattle Center Festál is produced with the generous support of KUOW 94.9 Public Radio, Coca-Cola, T-Mobile, Alaska Airlines, 4Culture, the City of Seattle and Seattle Center Foundation.
