About the Festival of the Bells:
The
first Festival of the Bells was originally started by the Holy Name Society in
1972 and was called a “Fiesta”. The “Fiesta” took place in two areas, the
The
program back in 1972 was one sheet of legal size paper 8 ½ x 13 and the front
cover of the program had a drawing of the
Saturday
opened at 12 noon. Home made tacos, baked goodies, cake walks, soft drinks, snow
cones and a "Vino de Casa" beer booth were all part of what was enjoyed by
festival goers. Cartoons for kids were held in the old school auditorium on
both days. There was a 7pm folk mass on Saturday and a 12 noon mass on Sunday,
both held in the
The
cost to put the fiesta on in 1972 was minimal.
Donations were high and profit was good that year. The Fiesta/Festival
was held in the same area from the first two years before moving into the
courtyard.
~In 1974 the Festival of the Bells opened with the ringing of the Angelus. That was the year that the BBQ Beef booth began to cook on an open BBQ pit. ~ The first three day festival was held July 16th 17th, and 18th 1976. ~ In 1978, and 1979 a festival Queen and attendants were elected.
Today
we carry on that tradition with the same enthusiasm and parish community spirit
that makes the festival what it is today. We also celebrate the great history
of the beginning of this community and town of
Phyllis Terzich and Max and Lisa Worthington contributed to this article.