vegetables, fruits and ready-to-heat meals. Podlaskie Zakłady Zbożowe S.A. was established on 1 July 2000 as a result of privatizing The Regional Establishment of Corn and Milling Industry 'PZZ' in Białystok. It is one of the leading firms in Podlaskie region in the department of preservation and processing of grain with elevators in Białystok, Grajewo and Suwałki. Culture and tourism Białystok is one of the largest cultural centers in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. The attractions include performing arts groups, art museums, historical museums, walking tours of architectural/cultural aspects and a wide variety of parks and green spaces. Białystok in 2010 was on the short-list, but ultimately lost the competition, to become a finalist for European Capital of Culture in 2016. Performing arts The city has a number of performing arts facilities including: The Białystok Puppet Theatre (), established in 1953, is one of the oldest Polish puppet theaters. The facility is located at Kalinowskiego 1 in Białystok. The repertoire includes performances for both children and puppet adaptations of world literature for adults. Because of the high artistic level of productions, the theater has been recognized as one of the best puppetry arts centers in Poland. The Aleksandra Węgierki Drama Theatre, housed in a building designed by Jarosław Girina, was built in the years 1933–1938. The Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic – European Art Centre in Białystok is the largest institute of arts in Northeastern Poland and the most modern cultural center in this region of Europe. In its amphitheatre every year at the end of June Halfway Festival takes place. Museums There are a number of museums in the city including: The Historical Museum in Białystok () is part of the Podlaskie Museum. The facility has a rich collection of archival materials and iconography illustrating the history of Białystok and Podlasie, and a number of middle-class cultural relics, especially in the field of craft utility. There are also the Numismatic Cabinet of the collection of 16 000 coins, medals and securities. The museum is in possession of the only collections in the country memorabilia connected with the Tatar settlement in the Polish–Lithuanian–Belarusian region. The Army Museum in Białystok () was established in September 1968 as a branch of the Podlaskie Museum to house the research and collections of many people connected with the military history of north-eastern Poland. The Ludwik Zamenhof Centre () has a permanent exhibition, "Bialystok of Young Ludwik Zamenhof",