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St. John’s 56th annual Boar’s Head and Yule Log festival was Sunday
YOUNGSTOWN
For the 56th time, St. John’s Episcopal Church brought the Light of Christ to the church and the community through Sunday’s performances of the Boar’s Head & Yule Log Festival.
One member of the 4 p.m. congregation said it“captured the elegant pageantry, music and soul of the season.”
St. John’s Church is perfect for the Boar’s Head Festival, said Robert Moro, an architect from Hermitage, Pa., who attended the performance with his wife, Mary, an interior designer.
“It is magical in this church,” said Mary.
St. John’s Rector, the Rev. Gayle Catinella, said the pageantry and music captivate people who attend year after year.
“People love the beauty of the costumes ... who doesn’t love dressing up ... and there is not enough beauty in the world,” Rector Catinella said.
“The purpose of the festival is to bring the Light of Christ into the world, something we try to do in many ways. The Boar’s Head Festival is one wonderful way,” she said.
Rector Catinella said she is grateful for a very faithful audience who come year-after-year. “The looks on their faces make it all worth it,” she said.
Rector Cantinella said she is also grateful for the cast members, many of whom have made participating generational, from grandparents, to parents to children.
For instance, the Sprite who skipped down the aisle Sunday carrying a lantern with a candle representing the Light of Christ, Corinne Huff, is the granddaughter of Denise Johnson, who played a nun.
The Rector, representing the Church, received the light and from this flame rise the lights of the altar and the lights of the church, according to the literature.
Meg Silver of Poland, a member of St. John’s for 30 years, and a member of the Boar’s Head Festival for about 20 years, is now the production’s director and stage manager. She said her job is to make sure that everybody and everything is where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be.
Because of the dedication and experience of the nearly 200 cast members, only one full rehearsal of the performance takes place the day before the performance.
Two of the many younger people in the audience were sisters, Claire and Ellie Richards of Canfield. They accompanied their parents, Adam and Wendy Richards, and grandparents, Ron and Gwen Richards, all of Canfield, but sat separately.
Clair, 17, and Ellie, 13, said they were looking forward to the performance, and when it was finished, said they both enjoyed it.
Richard A. Konzen, organist/choirmaster at St. John’s Episcopal and professor of music at Grove City College, is music director of the Boar’s Head.
Among the groups that performed the prelude were Illminare, formerly known as the Salem Youth Choir under the direction of Jon Simsic, and the St. John’s Choir.
Konzen gave a special thanks to the singers, both cast and choir, and the instrumentalists for their hard work and preparation.
In writing about the Boar’s Head, Konzen said: “May this Festival bring peace and joy to all and help make the world a more beautiful place.”
There were two performances Sunday, at 1:30 and 4 p.m. with a dinner in between that was sold out.
Rector Catinella said the City of Youngstown has been “wonderful working with us during the construction on Wick Avenue, and we’re very grateful.”