Church sponsors 29th festival

June 10, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

BY DANNY RESTIVO

It may have been easy to mistake the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Austintown for an amusement park for the past four days, rather than a place of worship.

That’s because the church is celebrating its 29th annual parish festival with rides, food and entertainment for children and adults. Even the weather has found a way to make this year’s festival more enjoyable.

“The weather has been perfect,” said the Rev. Ken Miller, Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish priest. “Last year, we weren’t this lucky.”

The festival began Wednesday with nearly 1,500 attendees and culminates tonight with a fireworks finale. It may be the last day, but parishioners are expecting the largest turnout today.

“We’re expecting three to four thousand people on Sunday,” said Tony Velasco, a festival chairman, Saturday. Velasco has participated in 27 of the past 29 festivals.

“We have a lot of volunteers that keep coming back, so it’s just fun,” he said.

Although the event is free and open to the public, the festival is a major fundraiser for the parish. Entertainment including blackjack, poker, and 50/50 drawings are open to adults as well as prize giveaways for laptops and TVs.

Children can find entertainment as well.

“My favorite ride is the red ferris wheel,” said Nicholas Moliterno, 10, of Austintown. “And I like the hot dogs.”

Today’s activities begin at 6 p.m., with fireworks starting at 10:30.