Classes and Events

Our 2009 Fall Szopka Workshops

Learn to take simple materials like cardboard, colored foil paper and ribbon to make a beautiful "Cracow szopka" or Cracow Christmas Creche.

We are happy to announce our fall workshops. Due to increased interest, this fall we will be holding two workshop series in two convenient locations: The South Hills and McKees Rocks.

Workshops consist of 6 weekly sessions, two hours each.

Students of all ages attend our workshops. Individual adult students as well as family teams are welcome to register. Immediate family members are permitted to register as one team for one registration fee. Children 14 years or younger are asked to register with one of their parents or grandparents as a family team.

What you receive:

  • Each registration gets an illustrated step-by-step Course Manual.
  • Pre-cut patterns are distributed each week for you to finish, assemble and decorate.
  • You will also receive basic materials and electric lights to finish your szopka.
  • Each course begins with an Audio-Visual presentation about Cracow and the history of this traditional Folk Craft.

Students will be invited to display their work on DECEMBER 13 at a professionally produced public Exhibition and Holiday Reception at the University of Pittsburgh. Each student will receive printed invitations to invite friends and family to this unique event.

Do you have to be an artists to take the workshops?

We offer an easy, step-by-step method. No advanced skills are needed. Each week you will receive pre-cut patterns and easy to follow instructions.

But I can't make every class!

We will try to accommodate our students in any way possible. If a student cannot attend a particular week's class, every effort will be made to provide them with that week's materials.

But I'm not Polish!

Doesn't matter. Our workshops are open to anyone and everyone. Perhaps you appreciate the arts? Or maybe you're looking for a new creative experience? Or perhaps you'd like a family project and would like to make a unique family heirloom? Some of our younger students are home-schooled and use our Szopka Workshops as part of their World Culture studies. Whatever your background or motivation, these workshops are designed to provide you with an exceptional cultural experience.

Workshop Fees

Workshop fees are $95 + $25 materials fees. There is a 10% discounts for registrations received before August 15. (Workshop terms and conditions are listed on our PDF registration flyer.)

Workshop Sites

CARNEGIE, PA
Dates:  Six Saturday Mornings:
Sept.19; 26, Oct. 3,10,31; Nov. 7
Time:  10:00 - 12:00 noon
Locations: (3 weeks in each location)
Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
300 Beechwood Ave, Carnegie (Sept 19, 26, Oct. 3)
All Saints Social Hall:  
514 Third Ave., Carnegie (Oct. 10, 31; Nov. 7)
(Map is provided on our workshop flyer; please click below for a PDF copy or email us at contact@cracowcrafts.com for a flyer to be mailed to you.)

WILMERDING, PA
Dates:  Six Saturday Afternoons:
Sept 19, 26, Oct. 3, 10, 31; Nov. 7
Time:  2:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Location: Holy Angels Social Hall:
201 Caldwell Ave., Wilmerding
(Map is provided on our workshop flyer; please click below for a PDF copy or email us at contact@cracowcrafts.com for a flyer to be mailed to you.)

Pittsburgh Workshop Fee: Reservations @ $110 ea (Includes $25 manual and materials fee)

ROCHESTER, NY
Dates and Times for the 2-Day Workshop:
     Saturday, October 24, 2009, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
     Sunday, October 25, 2009, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Eisenhart Auditorium, Lower Level
Eisenhart Auditorium is located on the campus of the Rochester Museum and Science Center
Sponsored and underwritten by the Polish Heritage Society of Rochester (PHSR)


For questions on the Rochester Workshop, please call Ilona Frederick at 585- 474-0986 (email: ilonaanne@gmail.com) Registration information is available at The Polish Heritage Society of Rochester web site is: www.polishheritagerochester.com.

To Register

Download the PDF flyer, complete and return with payment to:

David Motak
Cracow Creche Workshop
Pittsburgh, PA 15241-1103

If you cannot download the flyer, please contact us at: contact@cracowcrafts.com or 412-835-0539. Please make checks payable to Cracow Creche Workshop.

For a PDF of the Workshop Flyer: Click Here

(Click here to download the free Adobe PDF Reader)

Fall Workshop Flyer

Download our 2009 Pittsburgh workshop flyer here: PDF flyer

Please email us or sign-up for our mailing list if you wish to receive our next flyer.

Our 2009 Szopka Exhibition

Our annual Szopka Exhibition and Holiday Reception has quickly become one of Pittsburgh's most unique Holiday events. Each year the completed works of our Cracow Creche Workshop students are placed on display. This year, thanks to the sponsorship of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures we will once again be back at the William Pitt Student Union, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Bigelow Blvd on the  University of Pittsburgh Oakland Campus. The event is free and open to the general public but donations will be accepted to help defray the cost of the food. This year, the event will be held SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13 from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Off-street parking, free on Sundays, is available or you can park at the Soldiers and Sailors Parking Garage at Fifth Avenue and Bigelow Blvd.

Off-street parking, free on Sundays, is available or you can park at the Soldiers and Sailors Parking Garage at Fifth Avenue and Bigelow Blvd. For a map showing the Frick Fine Arts Building visit www.tour.pitt.edu/tour-060-map.html.

To receive a personal invitation to this year's Exhibition, please get on our mailing list: Mailing List

To view photos of our Workshops and our Annual Student Exhibition, please visit Educational Programs.