McKeesport pride on display at 64th International Village

McKeesport Mayor Mike Cherepko (far right), said International Village also serves as a reunion for past and present members of the community to come together. City of McKeesport Mayor’s Office

For six decades, countless people have flocked to McKeesport’s annual celebration of the many cultures that have shaped its communities. International Village, the three-day extravaganza of ethnic cuisine, music and dancing, brings McKeesporters together unlike any other gathering.

“Each year, the Village reminds us of the ‘Once a Tiger, Always a Tiger’ sentiment that McKeesport area natives carry with them for a lifetime,” Mayor Michael Cherepko said. “This festival not only celebrates many of the nationalities who came together to form our melting pot of a community, but it also serves as a reunion for the past and present members of our community to gather and celebrate.”

The 64th iteration of McKeesport’s multicultural celebration, International Village, runs from Aug. 13 to 15 at Renziehausen Park. Gates open at 3 p.m. each day. The event boasts 17 food vendors doling out dishes from various cultures. Entertainment at the Blue Top Pavilion begins at 5 p.m. each night, while a lineup of musical and dancing performers take the stage from 6 to 9 p.m. on the main stage each night.

This year’s International Village features a smorgasbord of more than 100 dishes originating from 16 different countries and Hawaii.

Joanne Welch, a resident of McKeesport’s Haler Heights neighborhood for four decades, and her family plan to have some street corn again this year. Welch said she likes to have foods she doesn’t make at home.

“I cook a lot of Polish and Hungarian food, so when I go there, I don’t want the pierogies and the halushki and stuffed cabbage; that’s stuff that I can make,” Welch said. So I tend to stick with things that I don’t make well, and Mexican food is one of them.”

International Village attracts McKeesporters of all ages each year, and it serves as a reunion of former and current residents.

City Administrator Tom Maglicco said International Village is “like a reunion without having a reunion.”

“It’s another great meeting point where you run into classmates of yours that you haven’t seen in years,” Maglicco said.

Welch plans to attend International Village with her daughter and granddaughter.

“So we’re passing it along to a different generation,” Welch said. “It’s always good, I think, to have younger kids involved in their heritage.”

McKeesport police Chief Mark Steele, who will be in charge of security at International Village, said the event has a special place in his heart.

“You get to see a lot of people you haven’t seen for years,” Steele said. “A lot of people from all over the country come back home to McKeesport.”

As Councilwoman Jill Lape puts it, International Village is simply a “McKeesport thing.”

“People come from all over to visit International Village,” Lape said. “It was always such a great time growing up as a child. Now, my kids go with me and my husband (to International Village). There’s no place like it.”