Ohio Slovenians pick their favourite Kranjska sausage
Cleveland, 13 September - Azman Quality Meats, best known for having their sausage taken into space, reigned supreme at the annual Slovenian Sausage Festival in Kirtland, in the US state of Ohio, winning over the jurors and the audience with their Kranjska sausage.
Medvode
Kranjska sausage
Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA
The 16th iteration of the festival, held on a farm of the Slovene National Benefit Society (SNPJ) in Kirtland in Lake County, drew about 1,300 visitors.
The organizers, the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum, had bought almost 2,000 sausages for the occasion.
The music programme featured 50 acts, including Canada polka king Walter Ostanek.
The panel judging the quality of sausages, included Alenka Jerak, who has recently taken over from Andrej Rode as Slovenia's consul-general in Cleveland, and Miss SNPJ 2020 Daniella Volpe.
The winning Azman sausage will now feature as the official sausage of the annual polka music festival taking place on Thanksgiving at the Cleveland Marriott hotel.
The butcher's headed by Bill Ažman, has also produced the sausage US astronaut of Slovenian descent Sunita Williams took to the International Space Station in 2006.