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WHEREAS, the 26th annual Polish Festival, "POLISHFEST 11" will be held on Sunday, November 13, 2011, at the University of Pittsburgh Cathedral of Learning following the theme "Celebrate Polish Heritage, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow"; and,
WHEREAS, this year's festival will prove to be entertaining with folk dance performances, cultural displays, cooking demonstrations, Pierogi eating contest, Children's Korner and more with all proceeds benefiting the University of Pittsburgh Polish Room Scholarship Fund ; and,
WHEREAS, Polishfest is one of the largest and most thriving undertakings of the Polish-American community in Pittsburgh who first began coming to Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania in the 1830s to work in the steel industry; and,
WHEREAS, by the year 1852, a large number of Poles lived on the Southside of Pittsburgh and the first Polish Mass was held at St. Michael's Church and new Polish neighborhoods were formed in Lawrenceville and the Strip District; and,
WHEREAS, by the year 1920, Pittsburgh was the largest Pennsylvania community of immigrant and second-generation Poles, numbering 200,000 and today there are approximately 30,000 Polish Americans living in the City of Pittsburgh; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby commend the Polish community for their contributions to the City of Pittsburgh and for the work they do in preserving the heritage of the Polish community; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare Tuesday, October 25, 2011, to be "Polish Heritage Day" in the City of Pittsburgh.