The Polish Bilingual Day festival will be held at the Polish School in Denver on Saturday, Oct. 10 as a celebration of the heritage of Polish-Americans. The new festival will feature educational activities in both Polish and English, and attendees can explore the Polish food, dance, music, art and history exhibited at the event.

The Polish Educational Foundation, Dobra Polska Szkola, in New York worked with other Polish schools and organizations to create the festival. Coordinators hope to establish the festival as an annual event.

The festival will celebrate the Polish language and culture in Polish-American communities, as well as encourage bilingualism in the new generations of Polish-Americans, according to a press release sent out by Event Coordinator Eliza Sarnacka-Mahoney.

Zygmunt Frajzyngier, a linguistics professor at the University of Colorado, will be speaking at the festival about the benefits of multilingualism.

“Since language is the most complex intellectual product of any community, knowing two or more languages enriches a person’s intellectual capital,” said Frajzyngier. “Multilingual speakers have direct access to other cultures and do not have to rely on somebody’s interpretation of those cultures.”

Other benefits that Frajzyngier will emphasize are the social advantages that multilingualism brings as well as the alleged positive correlation between multilingualism and the delayed onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

The Polish Bilingual Day is a testament to changing attitudes toward other cultures throughout America.

“Some 70 to 80 years ago, children of immigrants from Poland were trying to erase the traces of their origin,” said Frajzyngier. “Now, they do not hide their origin, and sometimes are even proud of it.”

The festival will take place from noon to 4 p.m. and is free and open to the public. The Polish School is located at 517 E. 46th Ave. in Denver.

Contact CU Independent News Staff Writer Taryn Parsons at taryn.parsons@colorado.edu.