The site and tradition of an annual harvest festival started in Spała in 1927 by president Ignacy Mościcki, marked today by a plaque and an oak tree, continued as the yearly Presidential Harvest Festival.
Dożynki Spalskie is the name of a place and tradition of an annual harvest festival in Spała, initiated in 1927 by President Ignacy Mościcki. Today it is commemorated by a memorial plaque and an oak tree in Park im. Prezydentów II Rzeczpospolitej, and the tradition continues as annual Prezydenckie Dożynki [Presidential Harvest Festival] organised every September.
The first nationwide harvest festival was organised in Spała on 28 August 1927 by President Ignacy Mościcki. Nearly 10,000 people participated, and the ceremonies included a procession with orchestras and folk bands. A year later, on 25–27 August 1928, the next harvest festival attracted approximately 38,000 participants. For this occasion, a stadium with a 460-metre running track and a hall covering about 4,000 square metres were built in Spała.
The last pre-war harvest festival in Spała took place in 1939. After a break of several decades, President Aleksander Kwaśniewski revived the tradition in 2000 and hosted the festival until 2005. Since then, Prezydenckie Dożynki have been held in Spała every September, continuing the custom initiated by Mościcki.
On 20 September 2025, a memorial plaque was unveiled in Spała commemorating the restoration of the Prezydenckie Dożynki tradition in 2000, funded by Aleksander Kwaśniewski. On the same day, an oak tree was planted in Park im. Prezydentów II Rzeczpospolitej, also from his foundation, as a symbol of the durability of the Spała harvest festival tradition.
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