Photo Gallery Youngstown's Polish Population Celebrates Easter It's called Swieconka and this Polish Easter celebration drew hundreds to the St. Casimir Church in Youngstown's Briar Hill neighborhood Sunday. "Traditionally, Swieconka is when you get home from sunrise service, then you have your big buffet," said Aundrea Cika Heschmeyer, the director of the Krakowiaki Polish Folk Circle. The event recreated that big Easter buffet, by featuring an array of Polish food and even provided workshops to teach popular Polish customs. "It shows a lot of tradition and I think tradition is really important, regardless of what your background is. So, we've really enjoyed seeing a lot of things that we've always done," said Lori Jaworski-Connelly, who drove in from New Castle. Some of the demonstrations included palm weaving and showing how to decorate waxed eggs. It's all a way to teach Polish people the meaning behind family traditions. "A lot of times first-generation people didn't think it was important. They wanted to Americanize. Well now the longer you're here, the more you're into it. You want to learn, 'Hey, instead of buying those eggs, teach me how to make them,'" said Cika Heschmeyer. That's exactly what Lawrence Kozlowski spent the afternoon doing, by both painting the eggs and educating those in attendance. "Each of the eggs are painted with a variety of wax designs and symbols and a variety of colors, which all have special meaning," said Kozlowski. It's the special meanings that bring this community together. "I'm hoping that it's giving people a chance to say, 'Whoa, I'm Polish. Give me a chance to learn about this' and that's what I'm running into downstairs, the people I'm meeting," said Cika Heschmeyer. "It means so much when you see other people knowing it and sharing it," said Jaworski-Connelly. To see coverage, click HERE