Tue 2/21
It’s the biggest day of the year at Rudy’s Strudel in Parma: Paczki Day. Some may celebrate Mardi Gras but in Polish culture the day before Lent is the time to consume as many of these stuffed pastries as possible before depriving yourself. Rudy’s Strudel has been a Parma mainstay for 75 years, and it’s also celebrating that anniversary so the party should be off the hook.
It starts at 5am when people start lining up to grab their favorites of the 31 flavors of sweet and savory paczkis. That includes some new flavors, “Schnitz Ale House Black Forest,” featuring Schnitz Ale’s homemade beer cheese and Black Forest ham; “Banter Maple Bacon,” with sausage from Gordon Square’s Banter; “Rudy’s Birthday Paczki Pop,” described as “sweet creamy goodness on a stick” and “Super Bowl Meatball,” with Mama G’s meatballs.
Michael Stutz, co-owner of Rudy’s neighboring business, The Current Year Records and Tapes, will actually be awake at 5am, regaling the crowd waiting to get their paczkis with music, a ballon drop and confetti to kick things off. Live polka music with Tom Mroczka and the Music Box starts at 10am. There’ll be lots of special activities throughout the day such as raffles, cornhole, trivia, paczki-eating contests, guest appearances by DJ Kishka and Ms. Dyngus Day, and a flock of local vendors onsite, including Schnitz Ale Brewery with drinks brewed in Parma and Das Schnitzel Haus with hearty German, Hungarian and Polish food. There’ll be free 75th birthday cake slices too — no one will go hungry! DJ Mike One and DJ Rashomon will be playing Mardi Gras music next door at The Current Year starting at 11am.
The party lasts, they say, until “the bakery runs out of paczki and the record store closes,” but everyone is invited to keep celebrating at Schnitz Ale Brewery just around the corner.
And if craziness and crowds aren’t your thing (and we warn you, this event gets packed), you can stop in prior to Tuesday and pick up an order of paczkis. They’re expecting to make 80,000 before they’re done!
If you’re on the east side and Parma just seems like another world, you’re in luck. Over in the Shaker Square area, EDWINS is also celebrating Paczki Day. EDWINS Bakery will be selling paczkis — not quite as many types as Rudy’s but some of the big favorites —from 7am-5pm.
Then, from 5-9pm, there’ll be a paczki party at edwins too, with food and drink, including kielbasa, pierogi, sauerkraut, kolacky, paczki and more, and music by six-piece polka band, the Trans Am Euro Mutts. Tickets are $35 for adults, which includes two beers, and $15 for 15 and under.