Lajkonik has been there twice before (2011 and 2009) and it’s a great Festival. We heard that a number of groups were also going – Obertas (Brisbane), Tatry (Adelaide), Syrenka from Sydney, as well as the local Melbourne groups Lowicz and Polonez. So, why not Lajkonik as well? Although we applied late, we were excited when Basia Czech from Polonez contacted us and advised us that we could join the 2013 Federation Square programme. Excellent! It was time to get to work.

Short on boys, we prepared Goralski for 8 girls and 4 boys. X-Lajkonik dancer PJ joined forces to help us, and we brought two girls up from the junior group to make up our “troupe” for Melbourne. Our second dance was a medley made up of Kujawiak-Oberek for our 8 girls and Oberek-Blyskawica for three pairs, finished by a finale with everyone. We asked Dariusz Plust to drive an Avis bus for us to keep our costs down (After the huge cost of Perth Pol-Art, we are still recovering financially).

Friday 15th November finally arrived, and with a small delay we finally loaded all our baggage onto a 25-seater bus, and headed off to Albury. Any more dancers/costume bags would have necessitated a trailer so whilst tight, it wasn’t too bad. We just managed. We arrived in Albury after 11pm and stayed in charming cottages called Jacaranda Apartments. All the girls/ladies slept in one house, and the boys and driver in another house next door. In the morning, after a yummy breakfast of kanapki (sandwiches) with Polish wedlina (cold meats) and ogorki (gherkins) from Wiesiek’s shop (Polonez Smallgoods), as well as cereal and fruit, off we headed on the “scenic route” to Melbourne. Early lunch was in the gorgeous town of Beechworth.

On arriving in Melbourne about 3pm, we caught up with other groups at the Transport Bar in Federation Square, and scoped out the stage on which we would be dancing the next day. Some of the younger members took a horse and carriage ride around the CBD which was a real treat for them. We arrived at Ashley Gardens Big 4 Caravan Park at around 6pm. After unpacking we made some more Polish sandwiches, and everyone gathered in one of the huge villas for “kolacja” and to watch some previous Pol-Art DVDs. It was great “group bonding time”.

Sunday morning, wake-up was around 7.30am. Darek entertained us at breakfast playing on the guitar, while the girls did their hair and make-up. It was back on the bus at 9am with all baggage, because straight after the performances, the group would have to be back on the bus for the 12-hour bus ride home. On the way, we practiced the songs which we would be singing in the Goralski suite.

Federation Square was packed with people. In the air was a feeling of happiness and celebration, with tantalising aromas of Polish pierogi, kielbaski and potato pancakes from the many Polish food stalls. After days of cold wind and rain, the sun was out and it was a beautiful day. Both of our dances went well, with everyone dancing with great joy and energy. The audience was very appreciative and the MC’s were extremely complimentary in their introductions to Lajkonik.

The trip home was long and arduous, but games were played and because a few of us stayed in Melbourne for an extra day or two, those travelling on the bus had more room to have a sleep. Everyone had brought pillows in anticipation of the long journey home in one stretch. So that was our trip to Melbourne 2013! Everyone had a wonderful time, everything went according to plan, our dances were performed well.

Next year we are off to Canberra and Brisbane for various Festivals and we hope that some of our x-members will come back into our performance troupe so that we can have more pairs, and show off our diverse Lajkonik repertoire. An overseas trip is also a distinct possibility. I would like to thank all the dancers of Lajkonik for their commitment and professionalism and the way they conducted themselves on this trip, with younger members doing such a good job with the senior group dances, and senior members helping out the younger and less experienced ones.

Thanks PJ for helping us out, and thanks Dariusz for being such an amazing, helpful and understanding busdriver! Thanks also to the Federation Square Polish Festival Committee for inviting us and for their terrific festival planning. We are really looking forward to coming to the next Pol-Art which will be in Melbourne in 2014!

Ursula Lang