Press Release

Corpus Christi’s 31st Dozynki Polish Harvest Festival – 08/21 & 08/22

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This joyful celebration, which dates to the middle ages, is the Polish equivalent of America’s Thanksgiving holiday. In Poland, this event marks the end of the wheat harvest. At Corpus Christi, Dozynki is an opportunity to give thanks for all manner of blessings.

The heart of the Polish Harvest Festival is to bring people together in a spirit of gratitude and appreciation to God for all we have been given. The uniqueness of this celebration is expressed during the offertory procession during Sunday’s Dozynki Mass, to be held at 11:30a.m.,when a specially baked bread is presented along with a wreath made of grains.

Event Schedule:

Saturday August 21

  • 11:30a.m. The festival opens with a Mass in the restored Chapel, next to the church.
  • 12:30p.m. Music – Al Kania’s Polka Smile Eastern Style
  • 4:30p.m. Buffalo’s Best Pierogi Contest
  • 5:30p.m. Holy Mass
  • 6:30p.m Music – Concertina All-Stars. Dancing under the Main Tent.

Sunday August 22

  • 11:30a.m. Special Mass of Thanksgiving honoring Our Lady of Czestochowa, with music by Corpus Christi’s Music Director, Bruce Woody, and singing by Ludowa Nuta Polish Folk Choir
  • 12:45p.m.-5:30p.m. Joe Macielag’s Pic-A-Polka Band, along with additional performances by Ludowa Nuta Polish Folk Choir
  • 6:30p.m. Music by True Colors band. Dancing under the Main Tent.

The Harvest Festival ends at 10:00p.m. on both days. This year’s Dozynki Festival offers both familiar and unique Polish/American foods, including Polish Pizza; a large selection of Polish beers; live music; a Farmers’ Market; historic church tours; a Grand Raffle with cash prizes; a Best Pierogi contest with local celebrity judges; and many other activities.

Admission is free and all proceeds support the church’s historic restoration.

Corpus Christi Church is located at 199 Clark St. in Buffalo, one block east of the Broadway Market.

For more updated information about the Dozynki Festival and other events at Corpus Christi Church, visit www.corpuschristibuffalo.org.

YCHTIS, POLISH GIRLS’ CHOIR TO PERFORM AUGUST 6 @ CORPUS CHRISTI

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(2008 performance of Ychtis @ Corpus Christi)

An award-winning girls’ song and dance group from Poland will visit Buffalo August 6 with a performance at Corpus Christi Church. The name of the ensemble is Ychtis (from the Greek word for fish). The group specializes in religious songs. Among their repertoire is music based on the poetry of the late Fr. Jan Twardowski, one of Poland’s beloved poets.

The five member group will perform at Corpus Christi Church on Friday, August 6 at 7:00 p.m. The girls, aged 10-15 years of age, will sing in Polish and in English as well as tap dance.

The group has been in existence for 15 years and is based in the city of Katowice in the industrial region of Silesia. Ychtis’ mission is to give young people with difficult family situations the opportunity to develop their inner talents through song and dance. Ychtis has appeared on television and toured Europe where they have won first place in a number of contests. This is their second visit to Buffalo and other cities in North America. In addition to the event at Corpus Christi, they will also perform in Chicago, Cleveland, Yonkers, Newark and a number of cities in Canada.

The group’s performance in the beautiful sanctuary of Corpus Christi Church promises to provide an uplifting experience for all. Admission is free, but a free will donation will be requested at the end of the show to help offset the group’s expenses.

Corpus Christi Church is located at 199 Clark St. in Buffalo, just one block from the Broadway Market.

The group’s website is at: http://www.ychtis.art.pl/

For more information about this performance and other events at Corpus Christi Church, visit www.corpuschristibuffalo.org.

The Third Buffalo’s Best Pierogi Contest at Corpus Christi Church

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Corpus Christi Church is looking for Western New York’s best pierogi by hosting its third annual Buffalo’s Best Pierogi contest on Saturday August 21 at 4:30p.m. The contest is open to all amateur cooks. For the first time, businesses are also invited to attend, but must use a traditional recipe.

Applicants will be judged in one of three categories:
Homemade Traditional – boiled or fried pierogi filled with cheese, cheese/potato or kapusta (pickled or fresh cabbage) with or without mushrooms, carrots, etc.

Homemade Non-Traditional – open to entrant’s creativity, keeping in mind that a pierog is a stuffed pocket of dough.

Commercial – open to any business using a traditional recipe.

Deadline for entries is Saturday, August 13.

The contest will take place during Corpus Christi’s 30th annual Dozynki (pronounced Do-ZHIN-kee) Polish Harvest Festival on August 21 and 22. This joyful commemoration, which dates to the middle ages, is the Polish equivalent of America’s Thanksgiving holiday. The heart of the Polish Harvest Festival is to bring people together in a spirit of gratitude and appreciation to God for all of life’s blessings. The event is also a celebration of Polish food, music and culture. All are welcome to attend.

In the heart of Buffalo Historic Polonia, Corpus Christi Church is located at 199 Clark St. in Buffalo, one block east of the Broadway Market. Applications for the pierogi contest and a complete listing of the Harvest Festival events can be found on the church website at http://dozynki.corpuschristibuffalo.org.