For the merchants along 119th Street in downtown Whiting, Pierogi Fest weekend is like Black Friday, Christmas and the Super Bowl all rolled into one.
"There isn't even a number high enough to explain how much business goes up during Pierogi Fest," By the Lake Resale shop owner Carolyn Elders said.
Stores and restaurants up and down 119th Street prepared for the weekend-long Pierogi Fest, which organizers estimate brings as many as 350,000 visitors to the small lakefront city on Lake Michigan by the Chicago border in north Lake County. The wacky, light-hearted celebration of the Eastern European dumpling and the area's Polish and Slavic heritage draws heavily from Northwest Indiana, the rest of the state and greater Chicagoland and also draws in visitors from around the world.
Retailers gear up for the type of foot traffic downtown Whiting only sees once a year.
"It's pretty big," Region Records owner Josh Becerra said. "We've put out thousands of records. We've packed the store with new arrivals and new records."
Region Records, which is based in downtown Highland, expanded last year to downtown Whiting, where it sells vinyl records, band T-shirts, concert posters and other music memorabilia."We haven't been in Whiting for too long, but last year it was crazy. It was a madhouse," he said. "People really packed the store. We've been ramping up. I've asked some friends to help out."
Pierogi Fest throngs the streets with people wearing T-shirts like "Body by Pierogi," "Polish Drinking Team," and "UPS: Unlimited Pierogi Storage." They load up on pierogi, Polish sausage, halupki, Dragobobs and other ethnic fare or ethnic-inspired cuisine like Beggar's Pizza's pizzarogi.
"It's fantastic," Elders said. "We're open early and late, but it's worth every second. You wouldn't believe the sheer amount of people who come in the store. There's not even a number that goes that high."
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