As many know, there is a weekend in October and a weekend in early May where a major transformation takes place at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. As parking spaces disappear, rides for young and younger as well as stands of cakes, games, and delicous food appear. The entire community--parish, elementary school, and high school--joins forces to create an "event." There are some parishioners (several who are still assisting) who have memories of festivals four decades ago! There are some families like the Heids, Donahues, Brotzmans, Copes/Bonner whose younger members are filling the big footprints of volunteerism set by their parents. The Festival is a strong, life-giving tradition!
For the past several years, the Friday night of the Festival has been designated as Alumni Night. On that evening between the beef stand and the beer stand, alumni gather to sign in, get their give-away mug and tee shirt, chat with former teachers and reunite with friends. It is a wonderful and growing gathering. This year the crowd was huge with alumni numbering between two and three hundred people. It was great to catch up, meet spouses, see new babies and hear of life changing accomplishments. There were two things that resonated to me--one was how successful most of our alumni are and the other was how genuinely happy they were to be "back" on campus. We heard from Chris who works for CNN and helped create the amazing map that Anderson Cooper and John King play with as they discuss politics. There is Nikki, always creative and talented, who is a graphic artist at NIH. There are several nurses, researchers, engineers, as well as plumbers, electicians and builders. The common themes they share are that they love what they do and that the first glimmerings of talents recognized, confidence built, and goals formulated began at Mt. Carmel. The Friday evening of the Fesival is one which makes me proud of our now grown-up kids!
I write this on Sunday as the Festival continues and I think of how many times blessed our community really is. Of course, there is the huge issue of good weather for the Festival weekend. It couldn't have been better this year. More importantly, there is the blessing of our people--the ones who love this community and are willing to share time and talent to build it, grow it, and preserve it. These, of course, are our most treasured blessings. The hundreds of peole who sell the food, bake the cakes, man the stands, and spread hospitality as they work are the real treasures. When I take a few minutes to think about this , I am grateful beyond words that I landed among such good people so many years ago and was smart enough to remain. Thanks be to God!
Now, off I go for one more beef sandwich! Happy Festival weekend!
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