Village of Glendon, Alberta logo from town website villageofglendon.ca
Perogy Capital of Canada
You’ll find the World’s Largest Perogy by following Perogy Drive to Pyrogy Park, in the centre of Glendon, Alberta, the Perogy Capital of the World.
Yes, there are multiple spellings for this Ukrainian dumpling and “perogy” is the most common one around here. Pyrogy, pierogi, pierogy, and pirozhki are also acceptable.
“Glendon is serious when it comes to celebrating the humble perogy. The World’s Largest Perogy is 8.2 m (27 ft) tall and weighs 2,700 kg (6,000 lbs) As for the actual perogy, the dumpling was brought to Western Canada in the early 19th century by immigrants from Eastern Europe. Many of these new arrivals settled in the Glendon area to farm.
The World’s Largest Perogy (and the extremely large fork on which it rests) was unveiled in 1991. It defines the centre of Glendon, which is about 40 km (25 mi) north of St. Paul. The sculpture also serves as the hub for the annual Perogy Festival.”
Population almost 500!
Glendon church - from Village of Glendon website
The area northeast of Edmonton, Alberta, is the largest Ukrainian settlement outside of Ukraine, with Ukrainian immigrants first settling here in the late 1800s. About 4% of Canadians - and 10% of Albertans - report having Ukrainian heritage.
You don’t have be Ukrainian-Canadian to love a pyrogy! These delicious dumplings have become staples of Canadian cuisine, especially in Ontario, BC, and across the prairies. The best, in our opinion, are homemade and bought at Eastern European delis or church basement markets.
We have already featured the World’s Largest Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg) in Vegreville for our Roadside Attraction Coffee Series and there are several more Ukrainian-themed attractions across the prairies.
If you are on your way to visit any of these attractions, make a stop at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village. It sounds very cool, from this National Geographic piece: The Alberta Story: Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village
Sources: Village of Glendon, Stats Canada, Travel Alberta, National Geographic, and, of course, Wikipedia.
The Roadside Attraction Coffee Series
The Roadside Attraction series of seasonal coffees celebrates our love for coffee, for road trips, and for Canada by creating limited edition coffees named for and inspired by Canadian Roadside Attractions.
Wach one is a limited edition, around for only a few weeks so try it out while you can!
Giant Fork-In-Perogy gets its syrupy body from a UGANDAN coffee, medium roasted to bring out notes of dried apricot and light brown sugar. Enjoy this coffee and dream of your next road trip!
Hear about our next seasonal coffee and other coffee news: