Flavors on display at Festival of Nations

By Taylor Brown

tbrown@yourmvi.com

St. Andrew the Apostle Parish will welcome residents from throughout the Mon Valley to its annual ethnic food festival this weekend.

There will be plenty of homemade delicacies from across the globe available at the event, which is set for 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at the church’s Charleroi campus. 

The Festival of Nations started in 1988 by Fr. John Marcucci with tables of food in a church garage in Charleroi.

As the homemade Italian and Polish foods became more popular, the event grew each year. Eventually, booths featuring various Irish, Italian, Slovak, Greek and American foods were added featuring family recipes by parishioners. 

The festival was revived several years ago by Fr. Jerry Mikinos, who is now retired, but still takes pride in spearheading the event each year with help from secretary Jean Alcorn and other long-time volunteers and church goers. 

Parish Business Manager Joe Caruso said the event has grown in popularity each year.

“This is one of the only ethnic festivals in the immediate Mon Valley area, so it draws a lot of people in,” he said. “The food is out of this world, just incredible.”

From pasta sauce to hand cut curly fries, a lot of preparation goes into the festival. Parish cooks have spent weeks preparing ethnic Irish, Italian, Greek and Slovak dishes. A local restaurant, Mexi Taco, will be on hand this year to serve Mexican tacos, nachos, burritos and churros. 

German food, including soft pretzels and bratwurst, will also be featured at the festival. 

“Many of our families have been preparing their recipes since the festival first began,” Caruso said. “People come from all over for this. It’s something that is highly anticipated by our communities.”

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