About Festival...
Polish-Scottish Mini Festival started in 2017. It is the only Scotland and UK-based arts festival celebrating artistic, musical and historical connections between our two cultures. It is based in Aberdeen and runs at the turn of January and February. So far, we have hosted four editions of the Mini Festival, supporting cross-national cultural exchange and bringing Aberdeen city and shire communities together by showcasing talents and unique cultural features of Polish and Scottish heritage. Artists from both Poland and Scotland perform together, simultaneously introducing our audiences to the distinctness of our cultures as well as celebrating our shared cultural and historical links.
This year, we have launched a highly varied artistic programme attracting diverse audiences from family-friendly events such as the tremendously popular Polish-Scottish Cèilidh, to singing and dance workshops for children, to high profile jazz and folk music concerts, as well as involvement in city events such as Holocaust Memorial Day and Burns Night. Our audience numbers are continuously growing and while in 2017, there were approx. 400 attendees, 990 in 2019, however in 2020, our audience numbers reached 1,225. We see great potential for growth in the 2021 edition of the Mini Festival, which will bring people together after the challenges of lockdown and which we are currently are planning together with a dedicated team of professional volunteers. With the right marketing support, we know we will attract a higher volume of audiences and spread our positive message across the region and beyond.
More detailed information can be found in the articles of ‘Tydzien Polski’ and TVP Polonia video, please see the links below:
2021
Photo exhibition
Growing with Polish roots
more details soon…Art Display
Loons and Quines of Torry
more details soon…
Holocaust Memorial Day
We want to create a modern communicatin tool dedicated to preserve heritage – story of human being lives. We also want to enhance historical awareness based on intergenerational integration of witnesess with younger generation. It will be narrated using contemporary methods of cultural animation (exhibition, layout, multimedia)
Lemon tree
The decision was taken by Aberdeen City Council at the start of the 1990s to create a permanent home for the burgeoning audience attending the city’s rock, theatre and comedy Alternative Festival held annually. In 1992 The Lemon Tree was born, named after the pub which had existed on the site before the building of St. Katharine’s. Find out more…
Event information may change due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Polish-Scottish Ceilidh
We want to celebrate ‘Burns Night’ with the ceilidh ‘Danse McCabre’ playing traditional Polish dances like krakowiak, polonez as well as ceilidh dances. We serve our guests Polish and Scottish traditional dishes: haggis, neeps, tatties and bigos, pierogi, barszcz with krokiety and Polish traditional sandwiches…
Polish-Scottish Folk Night
New age folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted orally, music with unknown composers, or music performed by custom over a long period of time. It has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles influenced by history of the region.
Polish-Scottish Jazz Session
The beginning of jazz in Scotland as well as in Poland is difficult to determine. As early as the 1930s would play some jazz. This tended to be a swing and some of it was influenced by traditional classical music.