If you know me, you know I love a good church festival. They’re one of those threads that stitch together our small-town fabric—where tradition and community meet fried chicken, raffles, and the sound of a polka band drifting across a late-summer afternoon. And this Labor Day weekend, two of our parishes are offering exactly the kind of experiences that remind you why these gatherings matter.
Start with St. Catherine of Siena in Enochsburg, which will host its 87th annual church picnic on Sunday, August 31st. Eighty-seven years—that’s nearly a century of families making the same drive down East Base Road, rain or shine, for chicken, beef, and fellowship. The menu reads like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting: “Famous Fireside Inn Fried Chicken” or tender roast beef, mock turtle soup, and pies that taste like they could win a county fair ribbon. They’ll be serving dinners from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with carryouts available all day. Adults eat for fifteen dollars, kids under twelve for seven. There’s a beer garden open from noon to five, plus games, a basket booth, a country store, and raffles. But the real draw is that sense of continuity—you walk in and realize your grandparents, maybe even your great-grandparents, ate the same fried chicken at the same tables, while the same church bells rang across the same Indiana cornfields.
Then on Monday, September 1st, just down the road in Morris, St. Anthony of Padua keeps the momentum going with its 108th Labor Day Festival. One hundred and eight years. Think about that: World War I was still raging when they held the first one. That’s not just tradition—it’s persistence. This year’s festival runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and it’s built around chicken dinners—fried half and whole chickens—served any way you want: dine in, carry out, or even drive-thru. They’ve added modern touches too, like taking debit and credit cards and making sure there’s an ATM on site, because in 2025 no one wants to dig through their wallet for cash when the bounce houses are calling. And speaking of bounce houses, they’ll have those too, along with face painting, games, a beer garden, and live entertainment. Matt Snow, “The Cincinnati Sinatra,” takes the stage from 2 to 4 p.m., belting out the standards with all the swagger of Old Blue Eyes himself.
Both of these events remind us that while Labor Day weekend is the unofficial end of summer—a time for last swims and final backyard barbecues—it’s also about honoring work, community, and shared rituals. In a world where so much feels fleeting, there’s something quietly radical about a fried chicken dinner that’s been served faithfully for nearly a hundred years.
So if you’re like me and you love a good church festival, you’ve got your plans made: Enochsburg on Sunday, Morris on Monday. Come for the food, stay for the raffles, and leave with that rare sense of being part of something bigger than yourself—something that stretches across generations, and, God willing, will keep stretching for generations to come.