| I wanted to firstly say how much I enjoyed the Kosciuszko Festival Gala at the Jindabyne Memorial Hall on Saturday 28th of October, 2017. The presentation was really great - the dancers were wonderful and the food was also great. The photographs around the hall were very inspirational.
Krzysztof Malek was exceptional. I went to his recital in Cooma several years ago when the grand piano was being funded. Young Julian Gilewski was superb and a well spoken young man.
I spoke to Urszula Lang briefly and also to Felix Molski who we had met last year with the Polish group from Canberra on the yearly trek to the top of Kosciuszko for the blessing. So, that's the good news, now to the not so good. I was extremely disappointed that there was no publicity of this event in the local area. I literally came upon it by accident. My husband and I were returning home and he noticed something happening at the hall. We drove around the block and went to have a look.
We stayed for the entire event - it was really inspiring to see the collaboration with the Ngarigo people - heart warming indeed. I met a couple of locals who also accidentally came across the event! The new regional Mayor, Mr. John Rooney, and Ccr. John Castellari were there also. When I posted my photos from the event on the Jindabyne Noticeboard I also asked why locals had not been there. The response was overwhelming - NO ONE KNEW!
The few flyers that existed were possibly totally ignored - there was just a lot of writing on them and this would never draw people's attention. If there had been a photo of the Jindabyne monument with Polish dancers and the Ngarigo elders - then people would have paid more attention. Moreover, there was no publicity on the local radio stations - 2XL and SnowFM. There was nothing on the council website promoting this important event.
People in this region love our ties with Kosciuszko - why weren't we invited? We would have been there to support this event! Whomever or whichever committee was in charge of this event failed our region - the Snowy Monaro region. It failed out Ngarigo people - even though the elders were there - they were from Bega. Even Monaro Post who diligently follow all events in our region weren't there. Why weren't they contacted? No Publicity = no interest!
I will be in Melbourne this weekend at the Polish Food Festival - maybe I will have an opportunity to speak with someone from Kosciuszko Heritage Inc.
I am of Polish heritage as is my husband. We have many Polish friends as well as Ukrainian and Lithuanian friends. For me this was such an incredible let down.
Yours sincerely
Wanda Lach
wlach.glen@gmail.com
Wanda Lach on her website - Dance with the Spirits
www.wachindy.com/havayarn/dance-with-the-spirits
Plenty of photos on her Facebook
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