Vacation / Travel Supplement

Festival scout: Catholic shares his ‘Unofficial Guide to Enjoying Parish Festivals’

In this file photo taken on June 14, 2004, seminarian Sean Danda of St. Malachy Parish in Brownsburg leads the Marian procession along Stevens Street to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Church in Indianapolis during the “Italian Street Festival.” Deacon Danda will be ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein on June 27 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis. (File photo by Mary Ann Wyand)

By John Shaughnessy

As he shares his “Unofficial Guide to Enjoying Parish Festivals,” Nick Wehlage has already begun to lick his lips at the thought of savoring a Gusburger at Christ the King Parish in Indianapolis.

And he smiles just thinking about listening to the band Polka Boy fill a moonlit night with lively music at the St. Christopher Parish “Midsummer Festival” in Indianapolis.

And when he manages to get past salivating about the fried ravioli and fettuccine that are among the mouth-watering choices at the “Italian Street Festival” at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish in Indianapolis, Wehlage turns reverent as he talks about the one moment that he believes every parish festival-loving Catholic should experience—the religious procession which takes place at the “Italian Street Festival” on Saturday evening along Stevens Street and into Holy Rosary Church before the 7 p.m. Mass.

“That’s worth going for alone,” says Wehlage, who is a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Indianapolis and previously was a longtime member of St. Jude Parish in Indianapolis.

“They carry this big statue of Mary on a platform down the street,” he explains. “Little girls walk in their white First Communion dresses. They let go [of] green, red and white balloons. If you ask my wife, that’s the best thing about the festival. That touch makes you know it’s a Catholic festival.”

Wehlage enjoys parish festivals so much that he has been visiting about 10 of them each year for nearly 15 years. He even plans his summer schedule by marking certain festival dates on a calendar. So it seemed natural—and fun—to ask him to offer his insights for what can be called “One Catholic’s Unofficial Guide to Enjoying Parish Festivals in Indianapolis.”

“Festivals are a Catholic tradition,” Wehlage says. “They’re fun and a form of fairly cheap entertainment. A lot of parishes use them to raise money, but it goes beyond that. It’s outreach.”

Another attraction of parish festivals for Wehlage is the friends he meets at the different events. He also has a regular group of people he attends festivals with, including his wife, Mary Ann Alexander, and two longtime friends, Peter Goerner and Steve Georgescu.

“Getting a group of friends together always makes it fun,” Wehlage says.

Here are some of his thoughts about his favorite festivals—listed in the order they will occur during this season when great food, lively music and friendly people fill parish grounds across central and southern Indiana.

• St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower) Parish Festival, May 29-31—“There’s a family tie to this one for me because I have a cousin who works there,” Wehlage says. “The food is good, especially the corn. They have music, some rides and an auction. It’s good when festivals have things that make you stay and look around. This is a nice one.”

• St. Simon the Apostle Parish Festival, June 4-6, and St. Jude Parish “Summer Festival,” June 25-27—Wehlage combines these festivals—St. Simon on the north side of Indianapolis and St. Jude on the south side—for this reason: Two of the largest parishes in the archdiocese hold two of the biggest festivals, with a lot of similarities.

“They’re both monster large,” says Wehlage, who returns to his roots for the St. Jude Festival. “They have a lot of everything—rides, food, music. This year is also St. Jude’s 50th anniversary as a parish.”

• Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish “Italian Street Festival,” June 12-13—“This one sets the standard for all festivals,” Wehlage says. He has already raved about the festival’s religious procession on Saturday evening. He gives equally glowing reviews of the homemade Italian food.

“The food is all good. You have to plan how you eat. You have to make sure you don’t get filled up on one thing. The fried ravioli is good, so is the Italian sausage, the fettuccine, the . . . .”

The list goes on and on for the celebration at the parish that marks its 100th anniversary this year.

“Holy Rosary is always a two-nighter for me,” Wehlage says.

• St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish “International Festival,” June 12-14—After two nights at the Holy Rosary festival, Wehlage still attends St. Gabriel’s “International Festival” on the same weekend.

“It’s fun,” Wehlage says. “There’s such diversity in that parish that it makes it good. A lot of the food is made by parishioners. They have Chinese food, Mexican food, a beer garden, rides and music. It’s one of those festivals that is manageable, too.”

• Christ the King Parish “Summer Social,” June 26-27—“I really like this one,” says Wehlage, who is an assistant coach for the varsity girls’ basketball team at Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis, which is across the street from Christ the King Church.

“They have a lot of kids’ games, a garage sale and music, too,” he says. “I like the set-up of this festival. All the booths and food are on the outside, and the tables are in the middle. You see a lot more people because of that. I also like this one because I get to see a lot of girls from the team and their parents. And you have to have a Gusburger. It’s named after a guy who ran the booth for a long time [the late Gus Jones, a longtime parishioner and parish festival volunteer].”

• Holy Spirit Parish Festival, July 9-11—“This is another one I really like,” Wehlage explains. “It’s one of the older festivals. It has good food, a beer garden, a garage sale and rides. They have a great steak sandwich there as I remember.

“One thing that’s interesting is that the parish got an infusion of Hispanics because of the way the Eastside has developed. Peter and I were watching Hispanic dance lessons in the beer garden one year.”

• St. Christopher Parish 70th annual “Midsummer Festival,” July 16-18—“It’s been around forever,” Wehlage says. “They have great music. They have [the band] Polka Boy play there. That brings in a huge crowd. That’s the best festival band you can get. They’re clean, they’re good and they’re entertaining.”

• St. Thomas Aquinas Parish “Sausage Fest,” Aug. 21-22—“A really good festival,” Wehlage says. “This will be its fifth year. It’s held the first weekend the kids are back to school. They reach out to the Butler [University] students, too. They have music and kids’ games, but they stand for sausage and beer, and they do both of them very well.”

• St. Joan of Arc Parish “French Market,” Sept. 12—“It’s the last festival on my schedule. And it’s just one day. I love the set-up and I love the food. They have the absolute best music. It starts at noon and goes to 10 [p.m.]. The food is great, too, but get there for lunch. That’s when they still have everything.”

Obviously, Wehlage doesn’t visit every parish festival in Indianapolis or the archdiocese. So check the listing of parish festivals that begins on page 3B, choose a few to attend and prepare for a good time. †