When we announced last year that the 2009 Holiday
Boutique would be the final one, we made clear that
we were not doing away with fall fundraising events here
at St. Joseph’s – a tradition going back to the
beautiful crafts made by Sister Ethel MacIlvain, S.S.J
and her group of dedicated ladies for parish Christmas
fairs some twenty and thirty years ago. Rather, we were
simply once more changing the format of the event, so
that it might appeal to and involve more parishioners.
I
am pleased that we can now announce what this new fall
event will be. On Saturday, November 13,
St. Joseph’s will host its first International
Food Festival and the Pastor’s Christmas
Shopping Raffle. The raffle actually will revive
an annual practice in the parish back in the 1990s, when
Msgr. Bob Weiss would sponsor a “Pastors’ Raffle”
for shopping gift certificates before the Christmas
holidays. Ten gift certificates will be raffled this
fall on Nov. 13, the first prize being a $1,000 gift
certificate to the Westfield Mall in Trumbull.
The
International Food Festival, however, is an
entirely new venture. Eight tables of food, representing
eight different nationalities here in our parish, will
provide a spread of enticing delicacies and favorite
dishes from diverse lands and cultures. Guests who
attend the Food Festival will be free to sample
items from any table they wish. The hosts of each table
will be serving their dishes dressed in their native
costumes, while music typical of each country will be
playing. Finally, door prizes will be raffled and
auctioned throughout the evening. It should be a
wonderful event!
Incidentally, the eight nationalities that will be
showcased at our Festival, in alphabetical order,
are: Filipino, French African, Indian, Irish,
Italian, Latin American, Polish and Portuguese.
It is a sign, I believe, of the diversity and strength
of our parish that we can present such a range of
cultures, representing literally all five continents.
And the ladies who have volunteered to chair each table
have already begun pulling out their favorite recipes
and, with the help of other parish volunteers and
friends, are eager to prepare outstanding dishes to
proudly represent their respective countries!
The
overall chair for the International Food Festival and
Raffle will be Nadine Civitella, with
Pat Heller, Ginny Harger and others
serving on the steering committee. More details will
come in the following weeks, with the raffle tickets
available hopefully (pending state approval) by
mid-September.
Be sure to mark your calendars for the evening of
Saturday, November 13 to attend the first St. Joseph
International Food Festival!
―
Monsignor Chris Walsh
