Polish heritage will take center stage in Northampton and Easthampton this weekend, as people gather to celebrate and honor Revolutionary War hero General Casmir Pulaski.
Northampton’s Pulaski Day Parade, which has become one of the largest Pulaski Day events in Massachusetts, will begin Monday at 11 a.m.
“It’s a great way for people to appreciate their Polish culture and Polish heritage, and it’s a nice way for parents to transmit that heritage to their children by watching it pass by in the street,” said Gerald Budgar of the Polish Heritage Committee. The regional committee has sponsored the parade for three decades.
The parade begins at the former Lia Honda lot on King Street and will travel down to Main Street. It will end at Pulaski Park, where the first major public commemoration event will be held at the redesigned park.
The occasion will feature marching and polka bands, as well as military, agricultural, civic and Polish organizations.
According to Budgar, new marchers include the WHMP radio station promoting its Monday morning polka program, the Northampton Senior Center, horses and wagons from the Three County Fair, restored old tractors and work equipment, the Silver Dolphins naval drill team from Groton, Connecticut, and more.
Mayor David Narkewicz will be the parade’s grand marshal, and Chicopee Mayor Richard Kos will be the keynote speaker at Pulaski Park.
“It started as a small Northampton event, but it has turned into a sizable regional event … it just keeps growing and growing and growing,” Budgar said.
The parade is preceded by a Mass held at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, 99 King St., at 10 a.m., celebrated by Bishop Rozanski and the Rev. Piotr Calik, a Poland native.
The Polish Pulaski Club of Easthampton will hold a ceremony honoring General Pulaski Sunday at the rotary in the city’s center.
“It’s popular, people look forward to it … it brings the Polish nationality into the limelight a little bit,” said Kasia Wynne, secretary of the Polish Pulaski Club.
She said the event has gone on for about 25 years, and that about 150 people turn out annually to commemorate the life of Pulaski.
Mayor Karen Cadieux, state Rep. John Scibak and state Sen. Donald Humason will all speak at the event, Wynne said.
The American Legion Post 22, American Legion riders, Sons of the American Legion and the Marine Corps League will act as color guard for the ceremony.
In addition, the Polish choir from Our Lady of the Valley Church and their pastor will provide a benediction and music.