The St. Patrick Catholic Church congregation is trying a new approach to its annual festival. The theme is Oktoberfest and the main attraction is Buckeyes football.
“We didn’t want to lose the concept of a parish festival, and we knew OSU football would be a sure bet,” said Dr. Jacob F. Froning, St. Patrick School principal.
The family-friendly event is open to the public and will take place from 5:30 to 11 p.m. Oct. 4 at St. Patrick School, 226 Elm St., London.
Cornhole, soccer, basketball and dodgeball start at 5:30 p.m. Hayrides get rolling at 6, as does the sale of reasonably priced tailgate food including buck-a-brats, hot dogs, baked beans, cole slaw, sauerkraut, chips, nachos and cheese, and drinks. A D.J. will host a dance on the blacktop from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
The festival committee will show the OSU vs. Wisconsin game at 8 p.m. on an eight-foot television screen. Raffle drawings will take place at half-time. The grand prize is $1,000. Secondary prizes are 10 $100 Kroger gas cards. A 50/50 raffle also is planned. Raffle tickets are $5 each and can be purchased at the school, church office or from parishioners.
The festival serves as a fundraiser for St. Patrick School. Froning said proceeds will go toward improvements, including the construction of a parish activity-recreation building.
“We’re very close to our financial goal. Half the money is in place. We can get started once we have the other half pledged,” he said.
Church and school leaders were scheduled to meet with the architect and construction manager on Sept. 30. The next step will be to make an appointment with the Catholic Diocese’s finance council. A start date for construction has not been set, Froning said.
For more information or to volunteer, call Dr. Jacob F. Froning at 740-852-0161 or David Covert at 852-7866.
