Mr. Pierogi marches in the Edwardsville parade Saturday on Main Street.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
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The Ed-Lark Hurricanes mini football team marches in the Pierogi Parade Saturday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Pierogi Man and Uncle Sam wave to the people along Main Street on Saturday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Rob Fox works the parade spectators to cheer and yell as the parade goes down Main Street.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
The Edwardsville Pierogi Parade makes its way along Main Street on Saturday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
The crew at Dymski Pierogies prepares food for their guests on Saturday.
The carnival area of the Edwardsville Pierogi Festival is shown on Saturday.
A crowd checks out the culinary options during the Edwardsville Pierogi Festival on Saturday.
The Edwardsville Pierogi Festival’s second day brought in a bunch of new faces, and the pierogi makers were happy to step up production as the lines got longer.
But the Pierogi Festival, believe it or not, is about more than just the eating. There’s something to be said for the spectacle that it creates within Edwardsville’s relatively small borders.
“Where do you get to go where you see a pierogi and butter walking around?” asked Jennifer Flick, of Lancaster. She was mostly in the carnival area, but, as a first-timer, was impressed by the all-encompassing nature of the Pierogi Festival.
“We’re almost at ‘fair level’ here,” Flick said of the Pierogi Festival’s scale.
This large scale was recognized by Todd and Carol Pletnick, who came from an hour away to be at this year’s Edwardsville Pierogi Festival.
“I am awesomely surprised it’s as big as it is,” Todd said.
Carol is an experienced homemade pierogi maker, which she attributed to her Polish background on her mother’s side. As something of a pierogi connoisseur, she’s been seeking out events that are similar to the one held in Edwardsville.
“I’m excited that [Todd] will take me to any pierogi festival I see,” said Carol. “If I see a pierogi festival… he’s like ‘Okay!’”
For an authentic pierogi with more than a dash of Polish influence, one might be drawn to Dymski Pierogies, operated by Marcin Dymski. Dymski moved to the United States from Poland in 2005.
This year’s selections at the Dymski stand included standards like sauerkraut pierogies, but also more unique options like pierogies stuffed with strawberries.
“A lot of different stuff,” Dymski said with a laugh.
Marcin and his team are based in New Jersey and have a long haul to make it to and from the Edwardsville Pierogi Festival, which he said he looks forward to attending each year.
“We have three hours to home. Yesterday we finished after 10, and, at home, we are at around 1 o’clock… at 5 o’clock, we wake up and come again” said Dymski of the late nights and early days when operating his Edwardsville Pierogi Festival stand.
The ride to Edwardsville is shorter for Rich Minuski and the crew at Polish Connection, whose home base is just about three miles away in Plymouth.
Of course, Wyoming Valley residents will associate Plymouth with the annual Kielbasa Festival. But Minuski says the Pierogi Festival is an excellent, and possibly preferred, alternative.
“Pierogies are our jam,” Minuski said, citing Polish Connection’s string of victories in the competitively judged pierogi contests at the Edwardsville event.
Minuski said that one of the great joys of the Edwardsville Pierogi Festival is seeing new faces, but their usual customers still come by to emphasize the communal element that makes events like this even more special.
“Even our local patrons come to support us. It’s a very tight community, and we’re grateful for it.”