Smells of savory chicken barbeque with secret sauce and sounds of soaring music sure to please crowd at annual Sacred Heart parish Festival in New Philadelphia

  • By Jennifer Kneuss
  • June 13, 2011
  • 248
                        
Summary: It’s almost summer, which means that it is time for the annual Sacred Heart parish festival to begin in New Philadelphia. As to the success of the highly anticipated chicken barbeque, “the secret is truly in the sauce”, say festival organizers. When the tantalizing smell of barbeque chicken begins to waft across the grounds of the Sacred Heart Parish Festival in New Philadelphia on Saturday evening, June 25, there is sure to be a crowd. After all, the extra special chicken, dripping with its mouth watering marinade sauce, is a closely guarded secret of chefs Bob and Mary Lou Fowles and Bob Thompson. “Saturday night’s famous chicken barbecue’s recipe is truly a secret,” admitted Carolyn Brodzinski, who is part of the festival committee. “Mary Lou and her husband mix it, but she says that she is on the receiving end of the secret ingredient. Bob Thompson gets this secret ingredient, and she doesn’t even know what it is. It goes through a middle man to get here, and she is only instructed as to how much to use. She will only say that it is not from around here, and if she would share the name of that ingredient or where it actually comes from, then they would have to kill me!” laughed Brodzinski. “They won’t share that with anyone. Believe me, I’ve tried. If I can’t get it, no one can!” Brodzinski says that there will be several new things in place this year for the festival, which runs from Friday, June 24 through Sunday morning, June 26, and has been held for well over 20 years in the New Philadelphia parish. “The festival will begin on Friday, June 24, with a Mass at 6 p.m. Following that, there will be a Eucharistic Procession, which we are calling ‘Blessing our Block’. This is something new, as we have never done anything like this before. Father Jeff Coning is our new priest, and he came with some new ideas, including this. This shows that this is not just a fun and games festival, but that there is a strong Catholic identity behind it also. It is a Catholic event, but it is meant to be inclusive of the people in our community, and we welcome everyone to attend,” noted Brodzinski, who is coordinating publicity for the festival. “The money we raise goes to support the church fund, for the overall well-being of the church,” the publicity coordinator explained. “In the past, we always had a car raffle, but to cover our costs, those tickets were quite expensive. With the economic times being what they are, we decided to instead sell much less expensive raffle tickets during the festival for prizes such as IPads, flat screen televisions, Kindles, gift baskets from School House Winery, $50 gas and restaurant gift cards, and similar things. This keeps it more affordable for more people to participate.” Concessions open Friday evening, and feature Italian sausage, fish sandwiches, burgers and more. “There are lots of things for everyone to do, including bingo games, corn hole, and plenty of kids’ games,” said Brodzinski. She also noted that music will play a key role in the festivities. Friday night will feature local favorite band, Badstone, beginning at 8 p.m. On Saturday evening, Mrs. G and B5 (Big, Bad, Bodacious Brass Band) will provide the soaring sounds of big brass at 6 p.m., followed by the music of Chameleon-The Band at 8 p.m. “Chameleon plays music like Chicago or Blood, Sweat, and Tears, and is similar to Direct Energy’s sound,” commented Brodzinski. “They have a strong brass and horn component, which should be great to listen to.” The parish festival will end on a much quieter note, with a pancake and sausage brunch following the 11:00 Mass Sunday morning at Sacred Heart Church. Said Brodzinski, “We really want to encourage everyone to join us for a fun filled weekend.” For more information, contact the Sacred Heart rectory at 330-343-6976.


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