On the 28th of August, 2011 XIIIth Archdiocese-Voivodship Harvest Festival took place in Września. The organizers of the ceremony were the Marshal of the Greater Poland Voivodship, Archbishop of Gniezno, Września’s Starost and Mayor of Września City and Municipality.

After the Mass, chaired by Archbishop Józef Kowalczyk (the Polish Primate), participants of this year’s harvest festival marched in procession to the Anna Jantar Amphitheater. Ceremonies in the amphitheater began with speeches of hosts and representatives of the Polish government.

The symbolic opening of harvest ceremony was performed by Marshal of Greater Poland, Marek Woźniak, by cutting with sickle rope made from this year’s corn.

After the opening ceremony dancers and musicians from Folk Group “Wielkopolanie” presented themselves on stage. 40 artists in regional costumes presented songs and dances traditional to Greater Poland region to the audience.

„Otwierojcie Gospodarze szeroko wrota…” – with the words of the folk chants harvest ceremony began accompanied with bringing on the stage beautiful wreath made of this’ years cereals from Greater Poland’s fields. After the dance with harvest’s mayors (who were Arleta Szykowna and Marek Śmidowicz, representatives of all the farmers of the region) host of Harvest Festival, Marshal of Greater Poland, Marek Woźniak, was invited on the stage.
The formal handover of bread baked from flour of this years’ grain was accompanied by loud applause. Then the symbolic bread was distributed among the assembled guests.
Harvest Festival traditionally came with the Agricultural Exhibition, the opening which was attended by Krzysztof Grabowski, Member of the Management Board of the of the Greater Poland Voivodship. As every year, there were contests for the best stand of the Exhibition and the most beautiful harvest wreath. In the contest for the most beautiful harvest wreath Międzychód District won and ‘ Stowarzyszenie Lokalna Grupa Działania „Z nami warto” ‘ was the laureate of first place in the competition for the best stand of the Agricultural Exhibition.

A day earlier, on the 27th of August 2011 “Wielkopolanie” participated in harvest festival in Potrzanowo, Skoki Municipality. There, in addition to the presentation of harvest ceremony, they performed the dances from different regions of our country.

On September 4th, Folk Group “Wielkopolanie” will perform during the XXXIII Michałów Fair and Municipal Harvest Festival in Mieścisko, after which the Greater Poland’s artists will go away to the International Festival in Slovakia.

This is not the end for “Wielkopolanie” with the meetings with the harvest festival audience. On the 25th of September group will represent Greater Poland Voivodship at the Presidential Harvest Festival in Spała.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    PK tł PW