This is the English version of an article first published in Polish: read the Polish original. It refers to source material: wilanow.pl. The text is our own commentary, not a translation or copy of that source.
On Saturday, September 5, from 6pm to 9pm, on the playground of Szkola Podstawowa nr 400 at ul. Os Krolewska 25 in Miasteczko Wilanow, the Wilanowska Potancowka takes place. This is the second edition of the project "Wilanowskie potancowki na swiezym powietrzu przy muzyce z DJ-em, integracja mieszkancow pod lampionami" (Wilanow open air dance parties with DJ music, integrating residents under lanterns), chosen in this year's participatory budget vote.
The organizers invite everyone interested, regardless of age, dancing skill, or previous experience on a dance floor. Families with kids, seniors, and groups of friends are all expected to show up, people who simply want to spend a Saturday evening differently than usual, instead of in front of a television or a phone.
Neighbours instead of a screen
The idea is simple: DJ music, the open space of a school playground, and shared fun instead of another evening at home. The organizers state plainly that the point is to break the daily routine and make new acquaintances in a friendly atmosphere. In Miasteczko Wilanow, one of the youngest parts of the district by average age, where a large share of residents only moved in over the last decade or so, events like this carry particular weight. It is a neighbourhood where relationships between neighbours are still forming, not one where everyone has known each other for generations, and where the blocks and courtyards fill up with new faces almost every year.
Choosing a school playground as the stage is not an accident either. Szkola Podstawowa nr 400 only opened a few days ago, on September 1, and now its courtyard becomes the site of the first big neighbourhood gathering since the building opened. For residents who spent months watching the construction from behind the fence, it is a chance to walk onto that ground for a reason other than picking up a child from school.
The dance party is one of the projects Wilanow residents chose in this year's participatory budget vote, in which under two percent of eligible voters took part, splitting more than 1.8 million zlotys between more than a dozen different ideas, from books for the library to psychological support for teenagers. The September 5 event is one of the first tangible results of this year's vote, something residents will be able to see and feel for themselves, not just read about in a summary of the results.
