St. Jude Italian Festival Offers Good Food and Fun

Hurricane Irene's impending approach towards the eastern seaboard hasn't yet affected the crowds flocking to St. Jude Church's 21^st annual Italian Festival. Chairman Peter Lucia said Wednesday's opening night attracted "a couple thousand" visitors from all over Fairfield County.

"Food-wise, we probably did twice as much business as last year when the weather was bad," Lucia said. "The sausage and peppers are always one of our top sellers, and Jennie's Restaurant sold out a lot of their items. People were also eating a lot of the Italian pastries that we had from Luigi's of Trumbull."

This year an additional display case for Italian pastries was needed to meet the demand of the Festival's hungry visitors who love winding down their evening of food, entertainment and fun with a sweet Italian dessert.

"I would have to say that everything was perfect on our opening night," Lucia continued. "We had a lot of youngsters here enjoying the rides and everyone definitely had a great time."

Donna Cramond, who co-chairs the games area with her husband, Jim, and Donna and Rich Lane, said there were an abundance of volunteers working each night.

"All of the feedback I got was positive," Cramond said. "People love this festival. Everything about it is fun. It has a great atmosphere with delicious food, music, and games."

The Monroe couple have volunteered for 18 years, 10 of which were at the helm of the games committee. "There is a variety of games that can appeal to all ages from the little ones to the teens, parents and grandparents," she explained.

This year Cramond also offered to help direct the 50-50 raffle, which is held throughout each night. "On Wednesday, almost $200 was given away," she said. However, the weekend's usually yield higher payouts because there is typically an increase in participants.

For the past three years, parishioner Cathy Ritch assisted in parking cars in the fireman's field, located across the street from St. Jude Church. Though this can be a difficult job that many people don't readily volunteer for, Ritch views it as an opportunity to meet and greet newcomers to the Monroe church's annual Italian Festival.

Ritch said, "I try to be friendly and funny because the parkers are the
first ones to welcome people to a St. Jude Church event." However, many drivers are either on their cell phones or simply not paying attention to those who are trying to direct them to an open parking spot. Some try to insist on parking closer. Ritch said she'll volunteer next year, though, because she said that it's a way to do service work for the community.

"Just think what chaos there would be if there weren't eight of us out there trying our best to park people," she noted.

Msgr. John Sabia, pastor at St. Jude Church, greatly appreciates all of the parishioners who return each year to assist with the festival's planning. Lucia said that he was pleased on Wednesday night because there were no unexpected problems or unfortunate accidents.

"If everyone is safe and healthy, then we are sure to have a good night," Lucia explained. "That is what is most important to Monsignor. He wants to make sure everything goes smoothly for the sake of all of our visitors."

Cramond said the parish is blessed to have three dedicated priests housed at the Monroe church. "This festival is a chance to celebrate that blessing," she said. "It's a great event too because it gets people together to celebrate outdoors as the summer starts to wind down."

Along with the priests who oversee the festival each season, Cramond also praised Lucia for his unwavering commitment to the Italian Festival. "It's a lot of work on the part of a lot of people but it is always worth it,” Cramond said. "Special kudos to Pete Lucia who has chaired this for more years than I know. He works so hard to steer everyone."