Storms bypass opening of St. Nick's festival tonight

STRUTHERS

It took a few years, but Dan McCall has learned to accept the uncertainty of the weather.

Even on Wednesday evening, when thunderstorms threatened to disrupt the first night of the 41st annual St. Nicholas Church Festival, McCall, the event’s chairman of the past six years, was calm.

If inclement weather was the case, the festival would just have to recoup its losses another night, he said.

“You let the weather come to you,” McCall explained. “There’s nothing you can do about it.”

But luckily, a brief downpour was all festivalgoers had to deal with, and not long after the 6 p.m. opening of the festival’s gates, the midway was already flooded with hundreds of people seeking food, rides and games.

Among them was Benita Fisher of Struthers. Four generations of her family have attended St. Nicholas Church, which joined with Holy Trinity Church in July 2011 to become Christ Our Savior Parish, and she’s been attending the festival practically since its start.

On Wednesday, she was accompanied by her husband, Don Fisher; their daughter and son-in-law, Michelle and Brian Flood of Poland; and their granddaughters, 2-year-old Ava Flood and 4-year-old Alexis Flood. Both sets of couples were married at St. Nicholas Church.

For that reason, Brian Flood said attending the festival with his daughters was almost like coming full circle. He also acknowledged the “good, clean fun” there.

Read more about the five-day festival in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.