St. Raphael Fall Festival is Sunday, September 11

The Parish of St. Raphael Catholic Church has been celebrating its annual Fall Festival for forty-six years.  The celebration, which started in September 1977, has taken on different agendas and menus through the years, but the festival remains the same—to celebrate and praise God for the bountiful harvest and all of our blessings in our agricultural-based community! 

Father Edward Ardolf suggested the idea of a summer or fall festival while visiting after Mass with John Ryan.  He mentioned how he had attended a festival at a neighboring parish and thought it was a wonderful idea.  He asked John if he could work on organizing one for St. Raphael’s and that is how the annual festival got started.  John took the reins and set up committees to stage what has become an annual event.

The Fall Festival has been celebrated in September every year since 1977.  Many things have changed since 1977.  There have been things added and things taken away over the years.  The Festival has always kicked off with special music at the Sunday Morning 10:30 Mass followed by good food, family fun and entertainment.   

The 2022 festival is bringing some new events and many of the traditional events remain.  There will be The Sweete Shoppe, the Craft Ladies Booth, Country Store, Silent Auction, and The Live Auction along with Father Garrett’s backpack filled with donated items to be auctioned off.

This year the menu is going to be food that can be served outside and enjoyed with friends and family. There will be a wide variety of food served from 11:00 until 4:00 such as grilled hamburgers, hotdogs, turkey supreme sandwiches, potato salad, taco in a bag, nachos and cheese.  The food will be available outside under a tent with picnic tables to sit around and enjoy your meal.

 See complete story in this week's issue of the Springfield Advance-Press.