St. Dominic festival may have been biggest in years
The crowd was huge and the people never stopped coming. ?Cars were parked up and down County Road 441,? said Sister Rita Epple of the 2008 St. Dominic Summer Festival. ?We were blessed with great weather. There was rain all around Metz and only a few drops ?dared? fall.?
One couple told Epple that this was the first time they had come to the festival, but not without discomfort. They started from Grand Lake on their motorbikes and got caught in a downpour and had to go home to change their clothes, get the car and still came back for chicken.
?We served 564 chicken dinners to 564 hungry people,? said Epple. ?The chicken was done to perfection and enjoyed by all along with the many salads, homemade breads, baked beans and desserts.? Again, meal numbers were up this year. The dining hall was full almost all the time. Many came for take-outs to enjoy the meal at home our outside.
ON THE CHURCH grounds the Chinese raffle and door prizes were the biggest hit of the day, said Epple. There were more than 70 new donated items. ?People kept coming to buy tickets to choose the items they would like to win.? The item that got the most tickets was a wooden finished love seat and table made and donated by Ken Hentkowski. Children had games to play to keep them busy for several hours and live music by Northern Sounds. ?Some people came at noon, had dinner, bought their raffle tickets and spent the rest of the day sitting in the shade watching all the happenings,? said Epple. The open space was filled with vintage cars, trucks and tractors. Many people believe this was the most successful and biggest festival in many years. ?MAYBE WITH the high gas prices, this event was a nice opportunity for folks to stay close to home and have an afternoon of good food, time seeing friends and fun,? Epple added. In the five-and-a-half hours they grossed $11,975. The proceeds will be used to offset the operating budget for snow removal and heating costs. Epple commended the sponsors of the events, parishioners, visitors, Posen Knight of Columbus and their wives, and the people who donated items to make the event a success. Within an hour of the last number drawn from the raffles, there was not a scrap of paper on the ground. All that stood were the three tents and the double glider waiting to go to its new home. It was won by Danny Donohoo of Brownstown.