Kolo dancers help to close 2024 International Village

Organizers raved about the success of this year’s event

International Village at Renziehausen Park in Mc-Keesport concluded Thursday night with another lineup of ethnic entertainment and, of course, more food.

The three-day festival brought in thousands across the region for a multicultural celebration. The final night featured dancing and musical traditions from Croatia, Serbia, Poland and the Philippines on the main stage at Stephen Barry Field.

“This has been absolutely incredible. It’s been one of the best that we’ve had in quite some time,” Mayor Michael Cherepko said. “The crowds have been nice and consistent, everyone’s enjoying themselves. The vendors are all doing well. It’s always nice to have an event like this where Mc-Keesport has a chance to showcase itself a little bit.”

Mikey Dee, International Village master of ceremonies, again introduced each of the night’s acts and made opening remarks.

“Welcome to my beautiful hometown of McKeesport, Pa.,” Dee said to the crowd assembled before the main stage. “Here we are in Renzie Park celebrating our culture and also our heritage.

We’re having quite a good time out here.”

Gypsy Stringz along with Dee, who played guitar and sang, took the stage first. They played a mix of folk songs originating from Europe.

“The rest of the evening will be nothing but heavy metal and rap music,” Dee joked after the first song.

The Neighborhood Kolo Dancers, a group formed after the pandemic by Dee, performed a series of circle dances that originated from Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Macedonia.

“The first year we came back to International Village, we hardly had any stage entertainment because of the pandemic,” Dee said. “So it was my idea to do a demonstration of how fun and how much of a friendly time you can have dancing Kolos.”

Dee invited anybody who knew how to dance the Kolo to join the group on stage.

“You’re more than welcome to come up, because I call these folks the friendly Neighborhood Kolo Dancers,” Dee said to the crowd. “If you go to different functions throughout the tri-state area, where it’s a Serbian picnic, a Croatian picnic, a Kolo function, you’re going to see these familiar faces here.”

The Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh dancers and the Lajkoniki Polish Dancers rounded out the evening’s entertainment.

Patrick Fisher, the longesttenured member on the International Village Committee, returned to the event as the stage manager after missing it last year.

Fisher and Dee have become best of friends over the years working at International Village and regularly compare themselves to the comedy duo of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

“We have the same personality; we always tease everybody,” Fisher said with a smile.

Fisher served as the emcee on the main stage Wednesday night while Dee performed at the Andrew J. Jakomas Blue Top Pavilion.

Fisher’s enthusiasm for International Village hasn’t wavered in his 24 years working at the event.

“I just love it here,” he said. “I love the village and what it stands for. It’s a beautiful, beautiful event. I go to a lot of festivals, and I don’t think you can touch International Village.”