By Barbara Arnstein
The 40th Annual Festival of St. John’s Evangelist Church in Olean is taking place on July 16 from noon to 10pm. The festival known as “The Biggest and Best Festival in Olean’s North End” will include delicious Polish and Italian foods, lots of live music, over two dozen basket raffles, kids’ rides and a bounce house, a bocce tourney (bocce is: bowling without the alley), and a BIG MONEY raffle. You could win TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS! Or maybe $2,000, $1,000 (three prizes), $500 (six prizes) or $200 (ten prizes). Each BIG MONEY raffle ticket costs $100 and you can buy them online, and basket raffle tickets too! The drawing will be between 9pm-10pm on the day of the festival.
“People look forward to this festival all year”, said Katie Barber, the church’s contact. “I know of four family reunions that are planned around it. It’s perfect for them because everything is in one place: entertainment, food, and fun for the whole family. There will be a 50/50 wheel and 50/50 pull tabs. One of the traditional dishes people look forward to is Halupki, which is sometimes called Gwumpki. It’s stuffed cabbage.” There will also be meatball sandwiches, sausage sandwiches, pizza, Broccoli & Ziti, Cannoli, beer, wine and more. “There will be plenty of tents to sit in”, she added.
The contents of the twenty-six assorted baskets being raffled off (for five dollars a ticket) include: two that contain a lottery board, plus fifty dollars (Numbers 11 & 14); “Laurie Bzdak’s Famous Baklava” (Numbers 23 & 24); restaurant gift certificates and one hundred dollars cash (Numbers 12 & 13) ; six bottles of Bully Hill wine, along with wineglasses and chocolate (Number One); a “Kitchen Helper” basket containing a hand mixer, vacuum storage bags, and an electric kettle (Number Five); one with fun and creative kids’ activities, including puzzles, games and a drawing kit (Number Two); a basket with slippers, a water bottle, lotion, bath salts and a towel (Number 10);a “Summer Fun Kit”,
including a pillow, outdoor lights and a tablecloth (Number Six), a barbeque basket with an apron, a chef’s hat, a motorized grill brush, and more.
The musical entertainment includes Larry Lewicki (known as the King of Polka) and a band, and the Sticktights, and more. Lewicki’s very versatile and can also play classic rock, rock and roll, and other types of music. He and his band will play between noon and 2pm. The Sticktights will play from 7pm-10pm. They can play a wide variety of songs. For example, on YouTube they have clips in which they cover “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder, “Just What I Needed” by the Cars, and “Send Me on My Way” by Rusted Root.
There will be an outdoor Mass at 4:30pm, conducted by Father John Adams. The church is located at 931 North Union Street (Bordmanville Park) in Olean, NY. For more info, contact kbarber@sjteolean.org