PARMA, Ohio - Most people are aware of the Fat Tuesday celebration, which marks the last day Christians can indulge in the delicacies they'll give up for Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday.

This year, Fat Tuesday falls on Feb. 28, and the tradition of eating paczki, the Polish fried dough delicacy with various types of fillings, has become a Parma Fat Tuesday celebration as popular as Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Fat Tuesday is still a few days away, but at Rudy's Strudel on Ridge Road in Polish Village, owner Lidia Trempe and her staff will be celebrating Fat Thursday Feb. 23.

"We're the only place in the entire city that's going to be celebrating Fat Thursday," Trempe said. "In Poland, this is the way you do it. It's called Tlusty Czwartek. That's the beginning of Carnival. You celebrate starting on the Thursday before Fat Tuesday."

On Fat Tuesday last year, Trempe said they sold over 60,000 paczki, and this year, she's estimating their sales to be closer to 75,000.

On Fat Thursday, Rudy's Strudel will open at 8 a.m., but the festivities will kick off at 1 p.m. There will be a tent set up outside, and accordion player Johnny Squeeze will be entertaining the revelers starting at 2 p.m. and going to 5 p.m.

Rudy's Strudel sells both sweet paczki as well as savory paczki. The sweet variety comes in 21 flavors, from apple to pina colada. The savory variety has the "Clevelander" (kielbasa and sauerkraut), "Breakfast Of Champions" (ham, egg and cheese) and "Parma-Que" (smoked brisket) among others.

"We're family here," Trempe said. "Most of my employees have been with us for years, and we love to celebrate together."

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