Suwałki Blues Festival is the winner of the Ambassador of the East 2018 award

Suwałki Blues Festival received the prestigious title of Ambassador of the East 2018 in the project category. On November 10, a gala was held in Janów Podlaski, during which statuettes of the Ambassadors of the East were awarded to individuals, organizations and festivals whose mission is to discover and promote valuable activities undertaken in eastern Poland and its borderland.

Suwałki Blues Festival received the award and title of Ambassador of the East 2017 in the projects category. The winners also included the city of Zamość (“Local Government” category), the Poleski National Park (“Tourism” category) and the creators of the “Dary Natury” brand from the town of Koricyny in Podlasie (“Business” category). The winners received statuettes of golden-winged angels, designed by sculptor Leszek Kunicki..

Using the blues to promote the city is not the easiest idea to implement, said Piotr Duda, a member of the jury, congratulating the winner. It’s a really good idea to combine promotion, tourism, but also local governments and business. Today, it is one of the largest blues events in the Baltic Sea basin –  added Bogdan Topolski, artistic director of the Suwałki Blues Festival.

Ambassador of the East is an initiative aimed at distinguishing people, entities and institutions operating in eastern Poland and its borderland. The beginnings of the project date back to 2013, when, on the initiative of the publisher of the quarterly “Kraina Bugu”, the first edition of the program took place, ending with the Eastern Ambassadors Gala and the presentation of the first statuettes. Since then, the initiative has been expanding both geographically and substantively with each edition. The aim of the first edition was to identify and reward people and entities operating in east-central Poland. Subsequent editions of the program have shown that this area is much broader and focuses on activities and initiatives implemented throughout eastern Poland and the border. Since 2015, the substantive formula has also been expanded and, in addition to categories such as local government, business, project and tourism, there are also categories: culture and art and socially responsible.

In addition to the Suwałki Blues Festival, two cyclical cultural events were nominated in the project category: the Summer Film Academy in Zwierzyniec and the Music Festival in Łańcut. We would like to thank the jury and congratulate all the winners.