A Mountain of Paczki Will Disappear in Ansonia This Fat Tuesday

Are you ready to test your skills against the best Paczki eaters the Naugatuck Valley can muster up? One of the finest annual Fat Tuesday celebrations in Connecticut is happening next week.

There aren't many municipal Mardi Gras celebrations, it's still pretty cold in Connecticut, but Ansonia does a great one every year. Next Tuesday March 4 is Fat Tuesday 2025, the last day we of the faith can stuff our holy, fat faces before giving up the sweet stuff for Lent. The City of Ansonia will present its Annual 2025 Fat Tuesday Paczki Eating Contest on Fat Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at 6:30PM inside the Ansonia Armory on State Street. 

For the few who haven't shopped at your local Big Y, Market 32, Shop Rite, Stop & Shop, Stew Leonard's, Caraluzzi's, and other local markets that stocks them during the month prior to Fat Tuesday, Paczki are deep-fried, filled doughnuts. Paczki trace back to Poland during the Middle Ages, and the tradition is catching on more and more here in recent years. Paczki Day Celebrations in Buffalo, Cleveland, and Indianapolis have grown, and I appreciate that Ansonia has captured the market. My favorite Paczki of 2025 was once again from Big Y. We tried the Market 32 Paczki, and a national brand that Bantam Market brought in, but they both disappointed.

The 2025 Ansonia Fat Tuesday Paczki Eating Contest is open to all challengers, entry is free, and contestants are needed. To enter, contact the Office of Mayor David Cassetti at 203-736-5900. Good luck, I hope that you eat a mountain of dough.