Waterbury’s Albanian Festival Goes Drive-Thru For 2020

Waterbury has always had a very large, and proud Albanian population. Growing up in Town Plot, we got our lumber from the Bushkas, not the big box stores. Waterbury has held an annual Albanian Festival for the past 14 years, but this year, it's obviously going to be a bit different. With COVID-19 regulations on large gatherings still in place, the festival organizers made the decision to make this year's festival a drive-thru only event, and it's coming up this weekend, Friday and Saturday, September 25-26, 2020.

So, although you cannot enjoy the music, dancing, conversation, and gathering with your friends and family, you can still enjoy the food. You can pre-order online, or order in person as you drive up. To pre-order online, click HERE. Taking a quick glance through the online menu, some of the highlights that made my stomach growl are the homemade meatballs, the oven roasted lamb, peppers and cheese sandwich, and of course, Albanian pie. As for the desserts, I'm a sucker for rice pudding, and bakllava.

The 15th Annual Albanian Festival is running on Friday September 25 from 5PM to 9PM, and Saturday September 26 from 12PM to 9PM. All orders will be available for pickup at 38 Raymond Street (pictured above) in the city's South End. Raymond Street is right off of Baldwin Street, pretty close to the 7-11, near the intersection of Baldwin and Pearl Lake Road.

Of course, I can't let an article go by about Albania without posting one of my favorite memories from childhood - take it away Coach Ernie Pantusso and Sam Malone -