Croquet tournament fundraiser will continue under new management

While the organizers of the annual Westmoreland Croquet Tournament charity fundraiser were proud of their legacy in 2024, they were also a little sad that — at the time — the 34th annual event would be the last.

But it’s time to burnish the mallets and polish the wickets, because the tournament will continue this year under new management.

“We’re honored to be entrusted with this event and excited to have it continue,” said Krystal Vangura of Event7, a Pittsburgh-area event coordinator best known for hosting one of the annual Le Dîner en Blanc events, a pop-up picnic dinner that takes place in a different location in the Pittsburgh area each year, with guests dressed entirely in white.

In fact, Vangura said her favorite part about taking on the croquet tournament is being able to do it without all the cloak-and-dagger work — the annual Dîner en Blanc location was kept so tightly under wraps that organizers would secure up to a half-dozen event permits from the City of Pittsburgh, to ensure the true location would stay secret until the last minute.

“Event7 stopped hosting the Dîner en Blanc in 2023, but I’ve been going to the croquet tournament forever,” Vangura said. “So when we heard they were going to stop hosting it, I thought, ‘We could probably host another event in white.’ ”

The croquet tournament began life in 1990, the brainchild of Vallozzi’s Restaurant owner Ernie Vallozzi and Greensburg investment advisor Robert Unkovic.

They and a group of close friends formed the nonprofit Old Joe Club in order to host the tournament.

Proceeds from the tournament have benefited human service, arts, music, education, child protection and a host of other organizations over the past 3 1/2 decades. Volunteers from those groups take on roles at the tournament and earn donations from the entry fees.

Over the years, it developed into one of the largest sanctioned croquet events in the country, drawing attention from professionals and national organizations and necessitating the all-white dress code.

“We’re delighted,” Vallozzi said of the Old Joe Club’s members. “Krystal met with us multiple times last year, and she attended a lot our organizing meetings to see how things work. We supplied her with the mailing list of attendees, and Event7 procured most of our croquet equipment, signage and things like that.”

This year’s tournament will be held Sept. 20 at its traditional home at Westmoreland County Community College in Hempfield.

“Being that most of the Event7 team are Westmoreland County natives, it seemed like a natural fit,” Vangura said. “We did 1,100-1,200 people for the Dîner en Blanc, which is about the same size crowd that attends the tournament.

“And now we don’t have to try and work with vendors and guests while withholding so many of the important details. The tournament is always in the same place, and WCCC has been a wonderful host over the years.”

Vallozzi is excited to see it continue.

“Event7 is very capable and we’re happy to see them taking it over,” he said.

More information will be available later this summer when the WestmorelandCroquet.org website goes live. The group also has a Facebook page — search “Westmoreland Croquet Country Classic.”