This past Monday our school principal Mr. David Flanagan and I had a preliminary meeting to start planning the return of the Harvest Festival. We were joined by many of those who have worked at past Harvest Festivals. Still being new to Holy Name, I was looking forward to learning more about this event, which I have obviously never experienced but about which have already heard so much. The meeting did not disappoint!
After talking about what made past Harvest Festivals so popular and successful, we started looking ahead to what might work for our next one this Fall. Many of the things that you love will be returning: the craft fair, food and music, events for children, and a bake sale among other things.
At the same time, we wanted to use the break caused by Covid to allow for a “reboot” of the event. And so, I am happy to announce to you here for the first time the first Holy Name Oktoberfest. It will comprise two events taking place a week apart, to allow for the best of past Harvest Festivals to continue while allowing for something new as well.
The traditional events will take place at the Oktoberfest-ival,tentatively scheduled for the day of Saturday, October 22nd. A week later we will have an Oktoberfest Dinner on the evening of Saturday, October 29th. We thought of adding the dinner as a way of bringing our parish community and other friends together, especially after the time apart because of the pandemic. The menu will offer a Fall River taste of German cuisine. We will also be providing childcare in another area of the school to entertain the kids while the parents are enjoying the event in the school gym.
We will also be looking forward to welcoming the VaticanIII Jazz Group featuring our own Deacon Valliere (by then, God willing, Fr. Valliere) to provide entertainment at the dinner. The end of October should be a wonderful time to come together, enjoy each other’s company and reconnect with friends, and also support the wonderful work done by our parish school. Please mark your calendars now!
We will also be asking for help from volunteers on the various committees that will help to make these events a success. Some of the areas where help will be needed include food/beverage, silent auction, setup & breakdown,publicity and advertisement, and outreach to potential donors and vendors. We’re not quite to the stage where we’re prepared to put out the call for volunteers, but we should be soon, so please stay tuned. The more help we all give to these events, the more of a success they will be!
