City of Minsk Mazowiecki

North Turston High school visiting Minsk Mazowiecki, Poland

On 30/03-7/04, at the invitation of Mayor Marcin Jakubowski, Minsk Mazowiecki hosted the North Thurston High School Youth Brass Band from Lacey, our partner city in the USA.

The youth, along with their conductor and chaperones, found hospitality in Minsk homes. We express our thanks to  host families for their openness. Such meetings give opportunities to get to know each other, master language skills and, above all, make friends.

During their stay in our city, members of the orchestra participated in an integration workshop organized by English language teachers at the Polska Macierz Szkolna High School. They talked a lot, but also danced the polonaise. We would like to thank Principal Joanna Papinska for the kind reception.

A great joy for our guests was a visit to the Minsk Land Museum, where they saw, among other things, the exhibition "Old professions in miniature. An Intriguing History Lesson" and sewed their own warm and funny slippers.

To relax a bit they visited the Municipal Public Library. The Vinyl Playroom, the Reading Room, the Language Room, as well as the collection of stones and the Avenue of the Stars of Literature impressed our guests.

There were also Easter accents. On Sunday morning, the Municipal Cultural Center and members of the "Poppy" Rural Housewives' Circle in Brzoze conducted handicraft workshops. All participants created their own Easter palms from crepe paper, boxwood and dried grasses. A warm welcome, joint dances and animations were also prepared by Minsk teenagers at th Youth center Miedzyczas.

The highlight of the American visit was, of course, meetings with music.

The orchestra played two concerts, on April 1 at 5 pm in the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and on April 2 at 6 pm in the concert hall of the Municipal Art School.

The Lacey Orchestra was run by Darren Johnson, and the Sunday concert was conducted by Marcin Ślązak. Many thanks to the Minsk City Brass Band for participating and making music together. For the American youth it was an important experience and an exciting experience. After the concert, on behalf of Mayor Marcin Jakubowski, his deputy Katarzyna Laziuk conveyed our gratitude to both orchestras for the wonderful joint concert and to the host families for hosting the musicians in their homes.

After a very active and concert-oriented weekend, the orchestra embarked on a tour of Poland. They went to Auschwitz, had a tour of Krakow, Wieliczka and Warsaw. But as Zanna Sikorska-Pejsz, who conducted the Sunday’s concert, summed up: "We don't say goodbye, but see you soon!"

Once again, we would like to thank all the host families for their openness, help, punctuality and all the attractions they provided for their guests.

We also express our gratitude to the staff of the city's institutions for the interesting workshops and warm welcome to the American guests. We would also like to thank the schools for their help in connecting the Americans with their Minsk families.

Miejska Szkoła Artystyczna I stopnia im. Konstantego Ryszarda Domagały

Muzeum Ziemi Mińskiej w Mińsku Mazowieckim

MDK Mińsk Mazowiecki

Miejska Biblioteka Publiczna w Mińsku Mazowieckim

Międzyczas

Koło Gospodyń Wiejskich MAK w Brzózem

Orkiestra Dęta Miasta Mińsk Mazowiecki

Studium Języków Obcych w Mińsku Mazowieckim

Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Polskiej Macierzy Szkolnej

Europe Direct Minsk Mazowiecki

Żanna Sikorska-Pejsz, Andrzej Soćko

The visit of the Americans from Lacey was a great adventure for many Minskers and forever  we will  remember our time together.  

The city of Minsk Mazowiecki - this is where we build relationships!