I have been coming to this festival for as long as I can remember. My childhood home is about a five minute ride away. Memories from my youth include getting honey balls from the Greek booth, for my mom, waiting in a huge line at the Croatian booth for lamb, for my dad, and getting a gingerbread man at the English booth, for me. One of my greatest memories from International Village is when I performed on stage with my church's Carpatho-Rusyn dance group. As a little girl, I loved the way my black patent leather shoes sounded on the wooden stage when we did our lively stomps.
The festival has been around since 1960 when it started as a 10 day event called Old Home Week. It began as a celebration of McKeesport history. And although that is no longer the focus, there is a lot to celebrate about McKeesport, despite what you hear on the news. There are many great people who were born and raised in the 'Port, as we natives lovingly call it, many of whom come back for this annual August event.
I am not sure how many new guests come to Renzie Park each year to try out this awesome event, but I do know how many people I run into while I am there that keeps the Old Home Week tradition alive. I have seen former teachers, friends from my old neighborhood, former childhood crushes - it is a walk back in time and it will always be something I treasure. It is nice to catch up, even if just for a few minutes, and then move on to get your favorite ethnic delight.
Many of the booths are run by churches, temples or social organizations in the area. These groups enlist a number of volunteers to sell food to benefit their organization. Because participating in International Village is a lot of work, and a lot of people are needed to make it a success, sometimes organizations drop out. Then, a small part of that consistency and familiarity, those of us who keep coming back expect, is gone.
I am sad to report that a few years ago the English Booth went away - no more gingerbread men - and we also lost the German Booth - no more German Chocolate Cake- but there have been a number of new additions to fill the void. All I know is that my Greek booth is still going strong and I can count on my usual 'Super Gyro' and baklava plus, my mom still gets the honey balls.
So it seems it was written in the stars that I would eventually find myself more intimately involved in Village. My children's Tamburitzan group has run the Slovak booth for a number of years. The kids also perform on the first night of the event. It truly is a full circle moment to see my kids on the stage I was once on many moons ago. It makes me proud to share a part of my past with them and who knows, one day they might bring their families to McKeesport to experience the magic.
Being a volunteer is a labor of love for sure. Many come from work to put in a few hours. Some take time off from work in order to volunteer, and some even help make the food which is served. Many parents in our group spent the past weekend making dough for the ceregi we will fry up fresh each night. These little donuts taste amazing, but the couple minutes in an oil bath does not represent what happened prior to the dip. It is great to keep these traditions alive, from whatever ethnic group you represent, in the hopes of making a nice profit to keep your organization in the black.
Unfortunately the weather plays a big part. Last year, storms sent people away and kept people away for the first two nights. It was disappointing, but out of our hands. Hopefully as you are reading this, we will have had a few dry days in anticipation of our final night tonight, Thursday, August. 17.
It takes a village to keep International Village going each year. I am proud to be part of this festival. And each year on the final night as hundreds of volunteers, representing many nationalities, religions and clubs, tear down the dozen or so food booths and put a cap on three days of hard work - it is always nice to hear these sweet parting words - see you next year!
Tammy Parents putting the Slovak booth together.
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