A float honoring “outstanding Polish women,” including the Felician Sisters, who are celebrating their 150th anniversary in North America, travels down Common Road in Warren on Aug. 24 during the 2024 Polish Day Parade, a celebration of Polish faith and heritage in southeast Michigan. Several Catholic organizations participated in the parade, which was held in Warren this year after being in Hamtramck for many years. (Photos by Valaurian Waller | Detroit Catholic)
The float’s design honors the Felician Sisters’ 150 years of service in North America; the Polish-American and Catholic heritage is on full display
LABYRINTH — For one afternoon, Warren became a little Warsaw.
Hundreds of proud Polish Americans marched down Common Road in Warren on August 24, celebrating all things Polish at the 2024 Polish Day Parade.
The annual parade, now in its third year in Warren after its first appearance in Hamtramck in 1977, has its roots in local Polish organizations that marched in support of the Polish Solidarity movement that opposed the totalitarian communist government.
Today, the Polish Parade is a celebration of Polish heritage and faith, showcasing Polish music, dancers, flags and all manner of Polonia elements.
The Zakopane dancers are dressed in traditional Krakowiak costumes, with women wearing floral-patterned skirts and men wearing dark trousers. The Krakowiak is the traditional national dance costume of Poland.
A man on a motorcycle printed with Polish and American flags rides along Common Road.
The parade is organized by the Polish American Congress – Michigan Division, a coalition of over 100 Polish cultural organizations committed to preserving Polonia culture in the region.
“This year we are celebrating outstanding Polish women with our main float,” said Ann Bankowski, former president of the Polish American Congress – Michigan Division and member of the group’s parade committee Catholic Church in Detroit. “We chose six women for this very special float, which was built by the Parade Company that also organizes the Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit. One of the most important people or groups we are celebrating is the Felician Sisters. It is their 150th anniversary since they came to America to help the Polish immigrant population, and they have thrived and grown in 150 years.”
Seven members of the Livonian-based Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Felix of Cantalice, Third Order of Saint Francis of Assisi – the official name of the Felician Sisters – participated in the parade, riding in two cars, waving red and white Polish flags and cheered on by parade spectators.
A Felician nun waves a Polish flag from the window of a car during the Poland Day parade. The Felician sisters came to North America from Poland 150 years ago and were honored in this year’s parade.
The parade is organized by the Polish American Congress – Michigan Division, a coalition of over 100 Polish cultural organizations committed to preserving Polonia culture in the region.
Sr. Nancy Marie Jamroz, CSSF, has been a Felician for 65 years and said participating in the Polish Day Parade is the perfect way to celebrate all the blessings Felicians have experienced through and for the people of God in southeast Michigan, especially the Polonia community that grew up in Detroit.
“The sisters originally came to Wisconsin when they arrived in America 150 years ago and stayed for about 20 years,” said Sr. Jamroz Catholic Church in Detroit. “Then Father Jozef Dabrowski (founder of SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Detroit) invited us to come to Detroit because we would have better transportation there and could move right into the street of the Polish seminary. We found it much more convenient to spread from Detroit across the United States and North America.”
Other groups participating in the parade celebrated the artistic side of Polish heritage.
The American Polish Century Club has been around since 1961 and celebrates Polish culture by organizing community events and festivals honoring Polish and Catholic values. Each meeting begins with a prayer in English and Polish.
The court of the American Polish Century Heritage Queen rides in the Polish Day parade. Since 1961, the American Polish Century Club has promoted Polish customs and celebrations in the community.
Spectators and parade participants were dressed in red and white striped clothing – the national colors of Poland – during the Poland Day 2024 parade in Warren.
Lucy Bemiss, who represented the group as American Polish Century Heritage Queen, explained why organizations like the American Polish Century Club are critical to preserving Polish cultural identity in the United States today.
“It’s so important that we hold on to our roots,” Bemiss said. “Even though we live in America and are a bit of a melting pot, it’s so nice that we have the opportunity to experience and learn from so many different, wonderful cultures.”
“God created us all so unique and perfect, so I love being able to share my heritage with people and invite others to learn about our customs and religious traditions,” Bemiss added. “It’s something unique that God has given us specifically and that we should all continue to celebrate because diversity is what makes our world beautiful.”
Spectators take photos as a float honoring Polish women drives down Common Road.
Lucy Bemiss (left), who represented the group as American Polish Century Heritage Queen, explained why organizations like the American Polish Century Club are critical to preserving Polish cultural identity in today’s United States.
Bemiss is also a member of the Zakopane Dancers, who also made a colorful presence at the parade. The dancers wore traditional Krakowiak costumes, the national dress of Poland, including ladies wearing floral-print skits and men in long, dark tunics with red-and-white striped trousers.
The Zakopane Dancers are part of the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, the oldest Polish fraternity in the United States, which is currently celebrating its 152nd anniversary.
Colleen Bankowski, director of the Zakopane Dancers, and Tom Lisiecki, the group’s choreography teacher, said dance has always played a central role in preserving Polish culture, and several generations of one family have learned Polish dance to express their Polish identity.
“The language is hard enough to learn, so I think dancing is easier for people to understand,” Lisiecki said. “I started Polish dancing when I was five; my mother introduced me to it and that was how we celebrated our Polish heritage.”
Polish flags, traditional Polish clothing and food were an integral part of the annual event, which attracts thousands from across the metropolitan area.
Spectators wave and cheer as unicycles ride past as part of the Poland Day 2024 parade.
In addition to Polish dances, the group also teaches other Polish customs, Lisiecki said, such as Christmas platzek, a traditional bread shared during Advent, as well as Polish customs for Easter and Palm Sunday.
“Beyond song and dance, we show the next generation how to live out their Polish heritage,” Lisiecki said.
For those who don’t know the language or the dance steps, the party atmosphere at the Polish Day Parade is still palpable. Paradegoers lining the streets were dressed head to toe in red and white and listened to polka music as parade participants made their way down Common Road to the Warren Civic Center, where there was a grandstand where each participant was honored.
For parade organizers like Bankowski, the Polish Day Parade is an opportunity to honor the generations of Polish Americans who persevered in bringing their faith, language, dance, music and customs to America, making the country spiritually and culturally richer.
“We have a history worth celebrating,” Bankowski said. “Today is about celebrating our heritage, what we are proud of, and bringing it to younger people who may be second, third or fourth generation of Polish descent, recognizing them as part of our community and making the wider public aware of us.”
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