The Story of Pierogi Fest:

How does a simple idea for a local festival to celebrate ethnic roots become a globally known phenomenon with hundreds of thousands of attendees each year?  

It all started a few decades ago in the little town called Whiting, Indiana. There, a combination of great ideas, strong community spirit, a little bit of luck, and a fair bit of wackiness all came together into what became the world-famous Pierogi Fest.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN – THE EARLY ELEMENTS

The original idea for Pierogi Fest formed in the early 1990s when founder Marty Dybel and co-founders Tom Dabertin and Darlene Beerling had an idea to celebrate cultural heritage with a new festival in Whiting. The city has a long and proud history that blends many cultural backgrounds from around the world into a community that is totally unique, yet somehow remarkably familiar to visitors. That’s part of the magic of Pierogi Fest.   

Food, naturally, is a big part of cultural identity. As the trio was discussing early ideas, they knew that food, family, and fun would need to be cornerstones of the new event.  

Pierogis were chosen as a focal point to honor Eastern European heritage, but the festival has never been exclusive to a single culture. All foods from all nationalities are welcome, and over the years many different types of delicious dishes have been featured during the event.

THE RISE OF PIEROGI FEST

Pierogi Fest wasn’t always the massive event that it is today. Surprisingly, the very first festival back in 1993 spanned only about 50 feet in length with only a handful of vendors and a few dozen people in the parade. Roughly 1,200 pierogis were served over about a day and a half.

These days, the event is about a mile in length and the number of pierogis served is probably in the millions. But the fame and popularity didn’t happen overnight. There were several important milestones that propelled the festival as it grew.

First and foremost – and just about everyone can agree with this one – one of the big catalysts for growth happened in year five when Pierogi Fest featured its first beer garden. Beer and pierogies go together as well as peanut butter and jelly. It’s practically a match made in heaven and was definitely a major milestone that boosted early attendance levels.  

Next came some unexpected support from the media. In the festival’s tenth year, Tom Dabertin’s mother thought that Steve Baskerville, a now retired meteorologist from CBS 2 Chicago, was a delightful television personality that should be involved with Pierogi Fest. Tenacious as she was, Mrs. Dabertin phoned CBS 2 until she finally obtained the contact information for Baskerville. The event’s coordinators invited him, and he conducted a live television weather broadcast from Pierogi Fest.

This was the first time the event had received live television coverage. The coordinators were so excited to have Baskerville attend, they made him the Perennial Grand Marshall of the parade. Baskerville has served in this role every year since his first attendance. He has become an honored and important part of the Pierogi Fest story.

Since the start of Baskerville’s involvement, lots of other media outlets have brought the spotlight to the festival. Joanie Lum and Roseanne Tellez from FOX 32 Chicago and Roz Varon from ABC7 Chicago have been key media supporters over the years. Oprah Winfrey included the festival on her “favorite things to do list” five years in a row. Numerous travel and food media outlets like TripAdvisor, Travel Channel, and The Food Network have featured unique and wacky stories about Pierogi Fest. And other TV stations from faraway places like China, Poland, Australia, Slovakia, and others have highlighted the event.  

All this attention catapulted Pierogi Fest onto the world’s stage as a destination event for all to enjoy.