Folklore, with its rich customs and traditions, songs, playing, dancing, clothes, applied art and handicraft, becomes the past, and is cultivated only in a few regions of Poland like Podhale (in the Tatra Mountains) or in Kurpie. Most often one can admire the folklore of Polish villages in ethnographical museums and parks. Suwałki Region is not a region of distinct ethnical and cultural separateness. One can see strong influence of such regions as Mazuria, Mazovia, Podlasie and partly Lithuania. It is the result of the late colonisation of this land and multi-national mosaic of inhabitants. It is not a rural community with culture and traditions so rich as in case of the inhabitants of the Cracow, Podhale, Łowicz or Kaszuby Region. However, it does not mean that villages of Suwałki Region did not have their own traditions, customs or culture. They did, and many of them have been preserved till today. You can see it yourself taking part in harvest home festivals, weddings, baptism parties, funerals or watching folk bands perform or folk art exhibitions. People particularly keep traditions of song, dance and music. Recently Folk Song and Dance Group "Suwalszczyzna" has celebrated its 50th anniversary. In the region several local dance and song groups and bands are active. Handicraft has not disappeared completely. The most popular craft is plaiting, especially wicker, root, straw and slat basketry. Housewives preserve the tradition of weaving. The loom is still used to produce decorative fabrics, bedspreads and carpets. Easter eggs are still painted. The situation is a little worse with pottery and coopering. Decorative design of porches and shutters has become a thing of the past.