Residents turned out in droves for this year's Pyrogy Fest celebrations. On Saturday, Sept. 2, Pyrogy Park in Glendon was buzzing with hungry residents eager to celebrate Glendon's heritage while mowing down on a plate of pyrogies.
Residents turned out in droves for this year's Pyrogy Fest celebrations.
On Saturday, Sept. 2, Pyrogy Park in Glendon was buzzing with hungry residents eager to celebrate Glendon's heritage while mowing down on a plate of pyrogies.
Dignitaries kicked things off with a few words before attendees were given the chance to dig in.
"This is just a chance for us to say we have heritage, and that doesn't have to be Ukrainian, Polish or Swedish. It could be anything you want, everybody eats pyrogies today," exclaimed Walter Czuroski, master of ceremonies for the event.
When everyone except the pyrogy eating contest participants had their fill, Village of Glendon Mayor Laura Papirny announced the items to be placed in the Glendon time capsule. The capsule was unsealed last year, in celebration of the 25th annual Pyrogy Fest. To coincide with Canada's 150th this year, the decision was made to fill it back up again.
Among the items were a Canada 150 coin collection, Albertan and Canadian flags, as well as a video and various pictures of the village.
After local welder Dan Marsh sealed the time capsule away for the next 25 years, it was time for the event many were waiting for: the pyrogy eating contest.
Residents cheered loudly as participants in seven separate categories tried to clear their plate of pyrogies the fastest
"Depending on the year we have, more or less, the same amount of people entered. It's a great draw and it's great to see," said Papirny.
Some participants travelled from as far as Edmonton for the festival, like the Machado family, who meant business in the competition.
Archer Machado was the fastest in the ages five to seven division, while his sister Luci downed five pyrogies in just one and a half minutes, securing her as the winner of the ages eight to 10 division.
Bianca Depot and Ki Snyder only needed one-minute 30 seconds, and one-minute seven seconds respectively claim the prize in the ages 11-13 and 14-17 divisions.
The Machado family grabbed the spotlight once more with Erin Machado besting the competition in the 18 and up women's division.
"We have a cabin near here, and we used to come to this when we were kids, so we thought why not participate. We're from the big city so it's kind of neat to experience smaller communities, and take in the atmosphere," explained Erin.
The fastest time of the day belonged to Myron Cotton, who made 10 pyrogies disappear in just 42 seconds. Then came time for the experienced veterans in the 55 and up division, with MD of Bonnyville Coun. Mike Krywiak intent on repeating as champion.
In a down to the wire race, Krywiak cleared his plate and raised his hand first. The win was the cherry on top for Krywiak, who expressed that this year, Pyrogy Fest was a cut above.
"This was my second year, and I won it last year. This year was so close I only won by two or three seconds. I looked over to my right and saw an empty plate, so I had to rush to finish," said Krywiak.
He continued. "This was awesome, there was such an excellent turnout I have never seen this many people here before."
Attendees made their way to the community church for desert after the pyrogy eating contest, bringing an end to a successful 26th annual Pyrogy Fest.
"I think it was excellent," expressed Papirny. "We had a great turnout, and we weren't sure with the weather but it was great to see that many people here. Overall it turned out really well."
