30th August 2009, a sunny last day of summer holidays was a day of harvest celebrations in Raków. This year, the celebrations were organized jointly by authorities from the district of Kielce and the commune of Raków. ALPOL Group was among event sponsors.
The Harvest Festival was attended by residents of the district of Kielce, within the boundaries of which PW Alpol hydrated lime plant is located, local authorities as well as authorities of the Świętokrzyskie province. Among guests were Zenon Janus, Head of Kielce District, Tomasz Lato, Chairman of Kielce District Council, as well as Ryszard Barwinek, Bogdan Gierada and Szymon Jarzyna – members of the District Management Board.
In line with the tradition, the festivities started with a church service held in the Holy Trinity Church in Raków. During the service, blessing was prayed over loaves of bread baked from new grain and over festive wreaths coming from fourteen communes of the district of Kielce.
After the Holy Mass, a colourful pageant of singing participants, led by the masters of the festival – Joanna Piasecka from Cząstków (commune of Nowa Słupia) and Stanisław Gratka from Celiny, marched through the streets of Raków towards where the official ceremony and entertainment performances were to be held. The guests were welcomed by a young singer Monika Krawiecka, whose wonderful singing accompanied the organizers’ entering the stage.
The masters of the festival handed the loaves over to the hosts of the event – Zenon Janus, Head of Kielce District, Alina Siwonia, Head of Raków Commune, and Stanisław Durlej, President of Rural Scientific and Cultural Association. “Today is the day to remember that thanks to our farmers and their work, we can enjoy having our Polish bread everyday on our tables,” said Zenon Janus, opening the celebrations.
Then, in line with the tradition, he treated the guests with the bread.
After speeches delivered by the organizers and invited guests, it was time for the harvest festival ceremony and singing over the wreaths, performed by “Leśnianie” folk group from the commune of Bodzentyn. During this time, the jury engaged in deciding upon the most beautiful festive wreath. The winning wreath was one from Raków and it is to represent the district of Kielce at the Harvest Festival of the Świętokrzyskie province on the 13th of September 2009 in Jędrzejów.
The audience had an opportunity to watch performances delivered by folk groups, such as “Bęczkowianie”, “Małe Bielinianki”, “Górnianecki”, “Pierzchniczanie”, “Gnieździska” and “Tokarnianki”. Children were able to play at a fun fair. Among stalls with local delicacies and handcraft, visitors could find ALPOL Group with a display of its products.
The last attraction of the event was a greatly enjoyed concert of “Disco Full”.
