(Events)
The crisis in Eastern Europe has hit home in Renziehausen Park, where the 49th annual International Village food and music festival opens today.
Reports indicate that last night, workers at the Polish booth asked the city if they can move further away from the Russian booth.
Apparently, the people at the Russian booth are claiming that they have the right to enter the Polish booth any time they want.
A spokeswoman for the Russian booth said the problem is that workers from the American booth have been meddling in the Polish booth, and previously meddled in the Slovak and Croatian booths.
In the event that fighting breaks out, the McKeesport Little Tigers will be dispatched to serve as peacekeepers, and additional humanitarian aid has been promised by the Glassport Sons of Italy.
I keed! I keed!
. . .
Pennsylvania's original and best ethnic food and music festival gets underway today and runs through Thursday. It's easy to get to from Route 48 or Route 30. Parking is free.
Gates open nightly at 3 p.m. and admission is $2. (Yeah, it used to be free, blah blah blah, gas also cost 25 cents a gallon and don't be such a tightwad.)
Today's entertainment lineup includes the Mikey Dee Polka Band, William Penn Magyar Dancers, Christ Temple AME choir, the Trafford Junior Tamburitzans, the Grecian Odyssey Dancers from East Pittsburgh, the Golden Triangle Junior Tamburitzans, Lebanese belly-dancer Sandy Roma, and The Barons, a German band.
Tomorrow's lineup includes Radost, a Hawaiian dancing demonstration, the Rankin Junior Tammies, the Lajkoniki Polish Dancers, the Otets Paissii Bulgarian dance group, and the Duquesne Junior Tammies.
More dancing follows on Thursday, with fireworks after 9 p.m.
Also, remember the advice of Tube City Online's medical expert, Dr. Pica Pole, who says you should always wait at least 30 minutes between eating a pound of halushki and trying to dance an oberek.
. . .
For more free advice (and worth every penny), click here for the Tube City Almanac ultimate guide to International Village.
For some historical coverage of International Village as it was in 1972, click here.
Ah, you keed, but I do remember the Serbian booth and the Croatian booth being on opposite sides of the field back in the day. Mostly I recall having to eat the Greek honeyballs very quickly before getting stung by a swarm of yellowjackets. No wonder my dad called it “International Heartburn.”
Dan - August 19, 2008
What?! STILL no square dancing? IS OUTRAGE! ;)
Schultz - August 20, 2008
@ Schultz: TCA Comment of the Week!
Webmaster - August 20, 2008
Never seen so much cooked cabbage in my life. And someone needs to tell the folks at the Rankin something booth, selling more perogies, that they need to learn how to make change. We got shorted a dollar but hubby didn’t have the heart to tell the youngster that her math skills were lacking.
Haluski everywhere.
And the two Asian stands had the same food, just different names. Hah! And what was with the Beck Concession people? Just grifters hoping to make a buck in Our Fair City? Is Hawaii an international entity? I thought they were part of the US. But what do I know?
The English Fare was good, but the sweet ladies there really don’t know what “fish and chips” are.
The best part was watching some strange looking man trying his best to enter a Port-a-John from the wrong side. Now that was entertainment.
WhyDoILiveHere - August 20, 2008
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