

Polonaise Ball
Saturday, May 10th, 2025



Polonaise Ball 2025
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We celebrated Polish culture at this year’s Polonaise Ball—a truly memorable fundraising gala dedicated to supporting scholarships for Polish-American students in the U.S. and Polish Saturday Schools in the Tampa Bay Area.
This year’s celebration was especially meaningful as we marked two major milestones:
The 43rd Anniversary of the American Institute of Polish Culture in Tampa Bay
The 100th Anniversary of the Kosciuszko Foundation
We gathered to celebrate our shared heritage, values, and community spirit—and what a night it was! Mr. Marek Skulimowski, President and Executive Director of the Kosciuszko Foundation, was unfortunately unable to attend due to a last-minute flight schedule change, but in his absence, Mr. Wojtek Perkowski—representing The Kosciuszko Foundation's Florida Chapter—graciously accepted a special recognition on his behalf. President Eva Skibicki presented the award, and Mr. Perkowski read Mr. Skulimowski’s heartfelt letter of gratitude.
We were also deeply honored to receive a congratulatory letter from the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, D.C., addressed to all our guests. Mrs. Bozena Gasior, Master of Ceremonies, had the privilege of reading the message from Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Bogdan Klich aloud during the ceremony.
After dinner, AIPC President Eva Skibicki and her husband, Mr. Christopher Skibicki, led the elegant Polonaise Dance, with many guests joining in to begin the festive dancing portion of the evening.
The evening was elevated by unforgettable musical performances by Milosz Gasior Defying Autism with Music, a young pianist on the autism spectrum, enchanted guests during the cocktail hour with a stunning repertoire of classical and contemporary pieces. Maya Mazur with Soundsgood4You, created a magical atmosphere with her powerful vocals and soulful violin playing. She brought everyone to the dance floor—and kept them there all night! Thank you to our dedicated volunteers—former scholarship recipients Patryk Gasior and Gabi Wisz—for helping at the registration table, selling raffle tickets, and warmly assisting guests throughout the evening. Your efforts made the night run smoothly!
On behalf of the American Institute of Polish Culture in Tampa Bay, I extend our sincere gratitude to the Ball co-chairs and all the dedicated helping hands who made this celebration possible. This year’s co-chairs were: Jowita Ahava Esq., Mrs. Bozena Gasior (also our Master of Ceremonies), Dr. Ewa Kolanko-Christian, Dr. Elzbieta Kolanko, and Dr. Izabela Kowal.
Thank you to Domanska Photography, Tomasz Urban, and Grzegorz Kapuscinski for capturing the mood and moments of this enchanted evening. A special thank you to Lidia Wisz for donating her talent and time in preparing the beautiful floral arrangements for our tables.
It was a night of unity, culture, and joy—an evening that reminded us all of the power of tradition, community, and giving back. Please donate to our scholarship fund so that our recipients can become successful contributors to our community.
2025/2026 Scholarships
Application Period Closed
Funds awarded August/September
No handwritten applications will be accepted.
THE AWARD
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AIPC supports American students of Polish descent for undergraduate and graduate level studies at colleges and universities with a special consideration given to students from our local community attending Florida universities. Scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis for one academic year. Funding is for full-time studies.
All fields and majors except STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) are eligible for scholarship funding. STEM majors are encouraged to apply for scholarship consideration at the Polish American Engineers Association of Florida, Inc. at www.PolishAmericanEngineers.com
Selected applicants are awarded financial assistance which is disbursed to the student's university account. Scholarship funds can only be used to pay for tuition, fees, books, supplies or equipment required for courses at the educational institution. (see IRS guidelines) The principal source of our scholarship fund, in addition to member dues, originates from fundraising events and donations.

Our kids are taking pride in our heritage!
What a success story!....
Thank you Rachael for sharing with us! We received this note from Diane about Rachael. "I just wanted to get in touch to send a quick thank-you note... I'm volunteering with a children's program at my local library, and to start our year the kids are all working on projects about genealogy and family history!
One of the kiddos, Rachael, was doing research online and she ended up on you.​
It turned out to be a great find! She was able to get some resources to research her polish ancestry and she decided that we needed to reach out and say thanks - so here we are LOL thank you! And together we also picked out another educational genealogy page to share with you, to pay back the favor...

AIPC welcomes University of
Tampa Polish and Slavic Student Club

ADVANCEMENT OF POLISH CULTURE THROUGH EDUCATION
Our children are our legacy. We want them to be well equipped for the challenges ahead. Cultural education consists of the capacity for reflection. Children and also young people in cultural education learn to reflect upon their own culture, culture of others and culture in general.
Our goal is to assist educational institutions in promoting Polish culture, folklore and customs so that our children will succeed in their own right and so that they will continue to promote richness and importance of Polish culture in todays' world.
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