Pierogi Fest


The Pierogi Fest is an annual festival in Whiting, Indiana, United States, organized by the Whiting–Robertsdale Chamber of Commerce. It gets its name from the pierogi, a Polish dumpling. It draws more than 250,000 visitors each year.
The festival takes place on the last weekend of July, on 119th Street in downtown Whiting. The street is only open to foot traffic during the festival. There are food booths set up along the streets serving pierogi, kielbasa and sauerkraut. There are also live music performances, and carnival rides. Other events include a Polka Parade, Pierogi Toss and eating competitions, and the crowning of "Mr Pierogi".
In 2017 the festival's organizers filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in federal court against the organizers of the Edwardsville, Pennsylvania, Pierogi Festival, asking them to change their event's name. At first the Edwardsville Hometown Committee, who characterized the WRCoC's requested licensing fee as "extortionate", filed a counterclaim challenging the trademark and seeking damages against the WRCoC for enforcing an invalid trademark. By the beginning of June 2018, when the Edwardsville event is held, however, the two sides had reached a settlement in which the EHC recognized the trademark in return for permission to hold its own.
2020 saw the festival get scrapped caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.