Church festivals continue to return in earnest
Observer-Reporter
In this photo from 2015, a couple dance the night away during the summer festival at John F. Kennedy Catholic School in Washington.
Jim McNutt/Observer-Reporter
In this file photo from 2015, Naomi Curry of Washington enjoys seeing the animals from a petting zoo at John F. Kennedy Catholic School’s Summer Festival in Washington.
Summer church festivals started to come back in earnest in 2021 and that continues this year.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many parishes to modify their summer celebrations or, in some cases, cancel them altogether. As restrictions continue to relax, many churches are moving back to normal activities for their festivals, car shows, burger bashes or other summertime events.
A check of the websites of the Greensburg and Pittsburgh dioceses shows that many summer festivals are scheduled.
“The people are anxious to get back out and have fun,” said Clifford Gorski, Diocese of Greensburg spokesman.
John F. Kennedy Catholic School and St. James Parish Summer Festival at Immaculate Conception in Washington was modified a bit the last couple of years to hosting mainly food trucks.
But this year, the festival made a full-fledged return June 9-11 with a totally outdoor event.
“Crowds were good,” said the Rev. John Lynam, pastor of St. James Parish. “We were blessed with good weather.”
Lynam said parishioners are returning to church services, and with restrictions reduced, it was a good time to have the festival return.
“We have the festival, because we need to raise money, but also because we want to have hospitality for the community,” Lynam said. “We invite people in and get to know them. There’s a very, very important social dimension to these festivals that we treasure.”
The social aspect was a key factor cited by those involved with the returning church festivals.
Resurrection Parish, a result of the 2021 merger of St. Thomas More Church in Bethel Park and St. John Capistran in Upper St. Clair, recently held Summerfest 2022. The festival did not take place in 2020 but did return in 2021.
“We brought it back last year and this year we expanded it and made it better than ever,” said Natalie Podkul, one of the chairpersons of the festival committee. “We brought it back for the fellowship of the community. They came out in droves (in 2021). It really showed how much people needed that kind of fellowship throughout the whole South Hills.”
Our Lady of Hope Parish is in a similar situation. That parish is the result of a merger in 2021 of St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin of Whitehall, St. Germaine and St. Valentine of Bethel Park and Nativity of South Park.
“We love the festival,” said the Rev. John Skirtich, pastor of Our Lady of Hope Parish. “Not only does it make money for the parish, but more importantly it builds community. Every parish I’ve ever been to has had some sort of festival. It really does build and forge the bonds of community in a beautiful way. To me, that’s the most important part of it.”
The history of the parish’s Summerfest dates back more than three decades. However, it was canceled in 2020. Marianne Puhl, co-chair of the event with her husband, Eric, called that decision “heartbreaking.”
“Folks were really disappointed.” she said. “Last year, we had a really good turnout because people were ready to have it back. It’s definitely a community builder. Sure, it’s a nice fundraiser and brings money to the church. But it’s more important in bringing people together.”
A modified version without rides and with food trucks returned in 2021, but weather forced the cancellation of one night of the festival and caused much to be moved inside on another night.
This year’s festival is scheduled for Aug. 10-13 at the St. Valentine Church site, 2710 Ohio St., Bethel Park.
St. Rita’s Parish in Connellsville, renowned for its homemade Italian food, did not cancel in 2020, but altered the event to a drive-thru, “to keep the tradition going,” said co-chair Anthony Lembo. In 2021, the parish went back to more normal festivities.
“Not as many people were getting sick, so we decided to go with it,” Lembo explained. “We had great attendance last year. They’re great functions for the community and they’re good for family events. The Christian Mothers have been doing this for 94 years. All year long they make food. Everything from the bun to the sauce to the pasta is homemade. People line up for that. Our line for the cavatelli stretches through the parking lot. I think COVID may have been a little bit of a speed bump, but we found a way to navigate through it to keep things going.”
This year’s festival, the 94th in the history of St. Rita’s Parish, was scheduled for July 14-16.