Parish festivals are an annual rite of summer in many towns throughout the diocese. In Dennison, the two-day festival at Immaculate Conception Church is always an eagerly anticipated event for young and old alike that combines fun, faith, fellowship, food and fundraising.
This year’s festival on July 26-27 was the 43rd for the parish and school.
“Not only is it a fundraiser for the school, but it brings people in the community together where they socialize and share a lot of fellowship,” said Matt Fantin, who serves as business manager for the school. “Many of the former St. Mary (Immaculate Conception) High School graduates come to the festival and have the opportunity to get together in kind of an annual mini-reunion. It’s a lot of fun for everyone.”
The festival resembles many others taking place at Catholic parishes that include games, locally prepared food, raffles, music and more. This year, a Hail Mary Mile run was added to kick off the festival on Friday evening that attracted approximately 40 participants whose entry fee benefited the school.
“This is our first year for the run,” said Hail Mary Mile organizer Adam Price, the 27-year-old Grand Knight of the sponsoring Knights of Columbus Council 576. “The school benefits mostly from this, but with a thriving school comes a thriving church.
“A priest recently told me, ‘Get as many souls to heaven as you can,’ and this run and the festival aim to do just that. So the Knights are here to serve and offer as much assistance as we can.”
One of the runners and a volunteer ticket seller was Adam Price’s brother Alex, 23, a Dennison resident and lifelong member of the parish who attended Immaculate Conception School. A recent graduate of Youngstown State University with a degree in finance, he will enter his first year of seminary for the diocese in August.
He said he has felt a call to the priesthood since he was in junior high.
“In the last six months, I’ve been feeling the calling more and more and decided to go to seminary and ‘let go and let God,’” he said.
Jackson Triplett, 20, crossed the finish line first in 4 minutes, 29 seconds. He attended grade school at Immaculate Conception and now lives in New Philadelphia, where he is a member of Sacred Heart Church.
“I’m really excited about the race,” he said before the start. “Running is a great sport that can really bring people together. It’s an awesome way to have a fundraiser for the parish and I think it will be a lot of fun.”
Before the start of the Hail Mary Mile, diocesan seminarian Nick Love, a son of the parish, led the praying of a Hail Mary to send the runners off.
For the Loves, the festival is a family affair. Nick’s older brother, Will, has served as co-chair for three years.
“There are five of us Loves and we’re all working here tonight,” said Will, a lifelong member of the parish.
Jake Love, the new principal of Immaculate Conception School, expressed gratitude for the support from the festival that will help provide funds to handle a growth in enrollment this fall.
“We have a pretty tight-knit community of people here,” he said. “There’s a long tradition of people who attended IC School and of families who’ve sent their kids here.
“Last year, we had only 123 students. However, this year we expect to have 148 or 149 students. We’re actually looking to be pretty full.”
Father Jeff Coning, pastor at Immaculate Conception and New Philadelphia Sacred Heart churches, commended the Knights of Columbus and local businesses for sponsoring the festival.
“It supports Catholic education in our parish with proceeds going for books, technology and programs for reading, math and study,” he said. “It’s a big draw for people not only from our parish but from the surrounding area as well.”
Brenda Basiletti is one of the school and parish alumni who return to their roots to help with the festival. She now lives in New Philadelphia and is a member of Sacred Heart Church.
Parishioners Kraig and Cyndy Host also are longtime volunteers at the festival who have been running the French fry booth for more than 10 years.
“We do the fry booth on Friday nights, my husband and I and his sister, Kendra,” Cyndy said. “We enjoy it. It’s our way to give back.”
