By Andra Bryan Stefanoni
news@joplinglobe.com
PITTSBURG, Kan. —
Those involved with Little Balkans Days festivities called this year one of the best in memory, with participation up in several events and a steady stream of attendees Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Event volunteers speculated that the turnout was in large part due to mild weather and sunny skies, while others attributed it to the diversity of events that offered something for everyone.
And the Little Balkans Days Festival Committee reported that 25 additional arts, crafts and food vendors were on hand this year, bringing many more shoppers to the downtown area than in years past.
Most of the activities were within a few blocks of Immigrant Park, Second Street and Broadway, the site of a former railroad depot where many of the area’s immigrants first arrived in the Little Balkans area more than 100 years ago.
Along Second Street on Saturday, the aroma from the chili, hot wings and salsa entries of 60 contestants wafted across to the Pritchett Pavilion, where throughout the day hundreds of audience members came and went as bands and performers entertained.
“With 60 entries, it’s a runaway record this year,” said chili cook-off coordinator Eric Rosenblad. “We’re pulling in from Texas, all of the Four States, Wichita, Kansas City. There’s a big regional pull, and this year is probably the best class of competition of chili cooks around.”
This year, it was the Chili Appreciation Society International’s official Kansas championship event, with the top three male and female competitors qualifying for the International Chili Cook-off in Terlingua, Texas.
Entries ranged from the no-frills booth of Joe Giles, of Fayetteville, Ark., a rock ’n’ roll singer by night and chili cook-off competitor by day, to the lots-of-bells-and-whistles booth of Rosenblad, the event coordinator.
“I normally cook off of a motorcycle, so this is it,” Giles joked, gesturing to his folding card table, electric burner and saucepan. “I could have a great looking booth and my chili would still suck.”
By comparison, Rosenblad and his booth were decorated to the hilt with chili peppers, leading him to walk away with honors in showmanship.
“Win or lose, it’s all a good time and a good cause,” he said of the event, which through samples sold to the crowd generated about $1,000 for Habitat for Humanity.
Another fundraiser was held Saturday morning a few blocks away on the lawn of the First United Methodist Church, conjuring up images of days gone by. Church members held the 20th annual church social, dishing up bowls of homemade ice cream, and plates of homemade pies and cakes.
“It takes two nights to make about 27 gallons of ice cream, and the members contribute baked goods,” said Shane Anderson. “But all the money goes toward children’s activities here at the church. And it lets people sit outside in the shade like the old days, and just visit and enjoy themselves.”
Next door, in the basement of Memorial Auditorium, members of the Little Balkans Quilt Guild put on the 23rd annual Little Balkans Quilt Show all weekend.
“We had 202 entries this year, so we’re way up,” said quilt show chairwoman Lea Anita Lemmons on Saturday morning. “People work on their quilts all year long, and they want to show them off, and this is a good way to do it as we have hundreds of people stopping by to look.”
Also on display was a collection of 40 chatelaines, or decorative fabric collars worn by housekeepers in the 19th century to hold thimbles, scissors and other sewing notions.
The collection was a combination of work by the local guild and some Australian quilters who became long-distance “patch pals.”
On the lawn of the auditorium, hundreds of children and families passed through the petting zoo over the weekend to see a variety of animals from around the world, from a South American alpaca to a Vietnamese potbellied pig.
A few blocks east on Broadway, dozens of brightly painted antique and classic cars lined the center of the street, with hoods up for inspection by the crowd.
Library volunteers reported brisk sales Friday night and Saturday at the semiannual Friends of the Library book sale. A steady stream of buyers bought hundreds of donated books, with funds going to the library’s summer programming.
