One of the biggest weekends of the year, finally is here for the Lorain International Festival and Bazaar.
After months of preparation, the festival kicked off June 23 with over 30 different ethnic food vendors and countless entertainers.
Chris Rewak, president of the International Festival, said vendors and staff have worked to set up the festival grounds at Black River Landing, 421 Black River Lane in downtown Lorain, since the beginning of the week.
Now, their hard work is finally coming to fruition, Rewak said.
“Monday, it’s basic setup and getting sort of familiar with the grounds … vendors started arriving yesterday,” he said June 23. “During yesterday, we had a lot of the gyro guys setting up, a lot of the booths setting up, food trucks coming in.”
Although the festival staff had been setting up since June 19, Rewak and master of ceremonies Don Vincent said the festival is a months-long endeavor.
“(Lorain is) called the International City, right?” Vincent asked. “It’s that way for a reason: we are as big a salad bowl as I think you’re going to find.
“We’re here today, but our planning process for next year has already started. We can’t wait.”
The festival is about more than just the food, Rewak said.
Throughout the weekend, Black River Landing will play host to various entertainment groups from all sorts of backgrounds, but especially highlight Ukraine, this year’s spotlight nation.
Some festival staff and events, such as the partnership with the Lorain Historical Society, which is the business spotlight this year, have been planning their parts since early in the year.
Madison Maniaci, a board member for the festival, works for the Lorain Historical Society.
In February, Maniaci had the idea for a historical exhibit revolving around the Lorain International Festival’s yearly Princess Pageant, which was June 22 at Lorain High School.
“I think I was just talking to one of my coworkers (at the historical society),” Maniaci said. “I thought it would be really neat to start displaying some of the past royalty members.
“All of these costumes are actually on loan.”
Maniaci showed off six different princess costumes from each decade of the festival’s existence.
The costumes vary in country of origin, she said, with regions as far reaching as Wales and Korea.
“I was able to have this other contact with some of these royalty members,” Maniaci said. “There’s actually a Facebook page … a royalty group or whatnot.
“I was actually able to make a big ask and say, ‘Hey, does anybody want to have their costume on display?'”
Additionally, the festival was able to bring in its first ever Ukrainian queen, Irene Kychun Shmerykowsky.
According to Maniaci, Shmerykowsky is flying in from Long Island, N.Y., for this year’s festival, her first since the inaugural edition.
However, she was not able to secure her original costume for the journey after passing it down to the next generation of her family.
As Maniaci acquired the costumes, she said the idea came to her to display them in chronological order through the decades.
“It sort of just started coming together,” she said. “I really wanted to make sure that we were doing and representing different cultures.
“I really have one from every single (cultural background”). I would say I probably started working in February. It’s so cool. I’m so excited.”
The sense of excitement for the weekend-long festival is palpable, Rewak said.
Beyond the food, dancing and entertainment, the community looks forward to the festival as a chance to get together once more, he said.
“This really is an opportunity for a sort of homecoming for Lorain,” Rewak said. “To have it treated as that, where people have groups come here, it’s just a nice thing.”
The festival takes from noon to 11 p.m., June 24, and from noon to 5 p.m., June 25.
The International Parade starts at 11:30 a.m., June 25, on Broadway in downtown Lorain.
