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St. Patrick Church Festival is in its 58th year
By Sean Barron
HUBBARD
Many area summer festivals have come and gone over the years, but one has enjoyed uninterrupted longevity for reasons that supersede the traditions upon which such gatherings often are built.
“It’s tradition, it’s community and it’s fellowship for all of us,” Bill Bancroft said Saturday, referring to the longtime success of the St. Patrick Parish Festival, in its 58th year. “This is where everybody comes every year to connect. You see the same people on the same nights.”
Bancroft also praised the “unwavering” support and work of volunteers for making the family-friendly fest possible.
The event, which kicked off Thursday, continues from 3 to 11 p.m. today at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church, 367 N. Main St.
The festival has enjoyed a long run, but don’t take that to mean everything is the same each year.
A new attraction this time is Father Mike’s steak hoagies, named after Father Michael Swierz, who joined the church about 11 months ago, Bancroft said. Between 18 and 20 cases of hoagies were sold Friday evening, he continued, adding that roughly 2,000 stuffed cabbages had been prepared to be sold during the event.
For those with a taste for more-traditional foods, however, the fest likely did not disappoint. Items included cavatelli and meatballs, haluski, pizza, french fries, cabbage rolls and corn and hot dogs, along with lemon, lime and orange shakes.
Many festivalgoers also found the entertainment much to their liking as they gathered under a large tent to enjoy the rock ’n’ roll sounds of the 5 Live Band that contains former members of The House Band, which is well-known in the Mahoning Valley. The group offered its renditions of popular songs from well-known artists such as The Eagles.
If not sitting down to eat or take in music, many children and adults enjoyed several rides or tried their hands at a variety of traditional games. Some, such as 5-year-old Jacob Vogan of West Middlesex, Pa., were happy to take home several stuffed animals and a small ball as prizes for having been successful at a coin-toss game.
The longtime festival certainly doesn’t fall short when it comes to providing plenty of fun and festivities for those of all ages, but perhaps more importantly, it remains highly focused on acting as another means for bringing parishioners, their families and neighbors closer together, Father Swierz explained.
“The parish takes pride in [the fest] and the traditions, and it’s open to young people to carry it on,” he said.
Today’s festivities include 11 a.m. raffle drawings in which the top prizes are a 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray or $40,000. Also scheduled is bingo, along with entertainment from the Jack Vasko Band, County Mayo Irish Band and the K Street Band.