Parma hosts inaugural New Year’s Eve Pierogi Drop

CLEVELAND — Justin Sollinger’s giant pierogi is mounted on a 30-foot pole on the roof of restaurant Sloppy Bob’s in Parma, and no, you can’t eat it.

“It’s built out of a piece of plywood… a prefabricated metal frame… heavy fabric,” Sollinger said. “A lot of steel, spray paint, epoxy. It’s got a whole lot of stuff in there.”

Sollinger hopes it’s the start of a new tradition. The restaurant is partnering with the City of Parma and nonprofit We Are Parma Proud to host the inaugural Parma Pierogi Drop. The event kicks off the New Year and celebrates the city’s bicentennial anniversary.

Kelly Lasecki and her husband co-own Sloppy Bob’s, which has served Parma residents in the Ukrainian Village for the last seven years. She said the idea for the Pierogi Drop came about during her and her husband’s most recent trip to their go-to destination, Key West.

“We were out there this last year, and we decided … they drop a conch shell from Sloppy Joes… what would be better in Parma than to drop a Pierogi,” Lasecki said.

Lasecki said the celebration also shines a spotlight on the city’s strong Eastern European roots, inviting residents to explore traditional foods and festivities along State Road.

“They’re going to shut the streets down, and you’ll be able to do like a bar crawl and meet safely walking back and forth,” she said. “And then there’s a couple of food trucks going on. We have live music outside of Sloppy Bob’s.”

While he’s excited for the giant pierogi’s grand landing, Sollinger said, he has even higher hopes for future celebrations.

“This is the first year. So we only had a few months to plan it,” he said. “We want it to be bigger and bigger and bigger and better next year and make it like three times the size it is now.”