Polish, Scottish and minority communities from across Tayside will come together for a celebration of their shared cultural history and future this weekend.
The second Polish heritage day in Perth on Saturday will feature the Perth Polish Saturday School, the Singing Angels children’s choir, Polish Scouts, the instrumental group Polish Artists, The Liberated Mcc and representatives from the minorities community hub of the PKAVS.
In Dundee, the Polish Saturday School will host an historical workshop, while some of the students will attend an excursion to Barony Castle in Eddlestone, south of Edinburgh.
There, pupils will view the Great Polish Map of Scotland – a three-dimensional, outdoor concrete scale model of the country, which was built in the castle grounds in the 1970s.
Perth Polish Saturday School head teacher Wioletta Hass-Lipinska, said the day would be a terrific chance for people to learn more about the proud connections between Poles and Scots.
She said: “We have invited VIPs and politicians from across the community to join us at the North Inch Community Centre this coming Saturday.
“This day will celebrate the connections between the Polish and Scottish communities, as well as other minority groups.
“It will be a family themed event, with lots of fun activities for people of all ages to enjoy.
“It will be so good to see the community come together on Saturday.”
The programme will start at 11am and run until 1.30pm.
People can follow the event on social media by using the hashtags #PLHeritageDay and #PolesinUK .
The Polish community in the UK is largely made up of a mixture of the descendants of wartime and anti-communist exiles and those who decided to move to Britain after their country joined the EU in 2004.
The date of the festival follows two historic days in the Polish calendar. May 3 is a national celebration of Poland’s constitution proclamation – the oldest codified constitution in Europe — and May 2 is Polish diaspora day.
Polish nationals make up the largest minority group in the UK, with an estimated 984,000 living in the country. The Polish embassy said it was proud to highlight that 92% of eligible nationals in the UK were in employment or further education.
