Post-Tribune |

Buscias are back: Pierogi Fest in Whiting returns after a year hiatus

If you missed your buscias, they’re back.

Pierogi Fest returned to Whiting Friday after a hiatus last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whiting resident Olivia Schultz, 36, said she was ready for the party.

Her house — on the 1000 block of 119th Street — was decked out with two clotheslines of grandma — or “buscia” — clothes.

When they bought it four years ago, it was a complete fixer upper — but directly on the parade route. That was its biggest appeal, she said. Every July, her family can park 13 cars around her house.

One neighbor sets out an entire patio set on the street for “dibs” (to block parking) that doubles as their bar setup. The other had a skeleton dressed up as a buscia Friday holding an empty wine bottle that said, “I love Pierogi.”

This year, they planned to serve sangria and hurricanes in their backyard, with yard games in the front. When the festival was canceled last year, they tried to make the most of it — still putting up her decorations.

“We were devastated,” she said.

The one neighbor still had an outdoor party to keep the spirit alive, she said.

Down past Indianapolis Boulevard, organizers relocated picnic and eating areas to stretch out crowds on 119th Street, they said. Food vendors had extra sanitation. Past years have drawn estimates up to 300,000 people.

The fest runs until July 25. Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, while it runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

If the festival would have had to be postponed till 2022, officials were afraid of how many of its 600 volunteers they would lose, festival Chairman Tom Dabertin said Friday. He estimated more than 90% of volunteers were vaccinated against COVID-19, including everyone that volunteered with the Whiting Chamber.

Numerous food vendors included local standbys Dan’s Pierogi, Big Frank’s Sausage and Freddy’s Steakhouse. As always, the fest will have arts and crafts vendors with a beer garden on its east end.

At least two food vendors said they had not done a single festival since 2019, and were grateful they could get back to business.

“Let’s hope it gets back to normal,” said Elizabeth Jakubowicz, manager at Kasia’s pierogi stand.

First time festivalgoer Carri Feith, 45, of Mokena, Illinois, came with a crew of family including seven boys, her mom and a friend. Some of the boys were chowing down pierogi on the sidewalk.

Her family was “100%” Polish and every Easter they would make traditional pierogi. She was out to try all the inventive varieties she could find. Afterward, the boys were going to the WhoaZone at Whihala Beach, she said.

As a Rush nurse working in a COVID-19 unit, the whole family was “100% vaccinated” and she felt completely comfortable being at the festival, she said.

For longtime characters, the festival was more than just a marketed wacky affair — it was a chance to see people they bonded with for years. Many of the buscias — Carolyn Kruzynski, Dru Revis, Laine Kaminsky and Jean Lovasko — said the festival’s return was a joyous part of their lives.

Kruzynski and Kaminsky, for example, estimated they had each done it for more than 20 years. Last year, they did a mini-parade and that was it.

Pierogi Fest was “family, heritage, the whole thing,” Kaminsky said.

Some notable events start Saturday, like the Buscia Cooking Show at 11 a.m., followed by Mr. Pierogi Songfest. Sunday has the Polonia Polish Folk Song & Dance Ensemble starting at 1 p.m. The Pierogi Toss & Pierogi Eating Contest starts at 3:30 p.m.