Patriot Day Festival remembers 9/11, supports church

— Photos courtesy of Christ the King.

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HOUTZDALE — A few decades ago, Christ the King Catholic Church held a Labor Day weekend festival that spanned three days. There was a long break, but then in 2022 parishioners decided to hold a Patriot Day festival.

The Patriot Day festival is held on a Sunday near Sept. 11 to honor the victims of that fateful day in 2001. Now, Christ the King is gearing up for their fifth annual Patriot Day festival slated to run from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 13.

Event organizer Michelle Stine said it was not feasible for the church and the parishioners to hold a festival over three days during a holiday weekend. That turned into a look at the calendar for other ideas.

“The committee wanted to do something similar to the Labor Day festival, but we agreed we couldn’t manage a three-day event,” Stine said. “We found that Patriot Day is celebrated on Sept. 11 and we all liked the meaning of the day by honoring the people who lost their lives that day.”

It also added a little meaning for Christ the King, considering that one of the parishioners had a niece that passed away in the World Trade Center in New York on 9/11.

Christ the King held its first Patriot Day festival in 2022, and the second Sunday in September that year just happened to be on Sept. 11. Organizers said the festival is held to not just remember the tragedy, but also to remember the need for God, and to remember that there is no greater love than to give up one’s life for a friend.

The festival has been well-attended in its first four years of existence, Stine said, explaining the food is a big draw.

“By far, it has to be the homemade pierogies, halupki (pigs in a blanket) and haluski (cabbage and noodles),” Stine said.

This year, dinners will be available for eat in or take out at $12 dollars each for a roast beef dinner or a halupki dinner.

The popular band, The Moore Brothers, will play oldies music from 1 to 3 p.m. during the festival. The event, which is held rain or shine, will also have raffle baskets, a kids area, an ice cream truck, a coffee truck, a cake wheel and a beer booth.

There is also a big cash raffle, where tickets are sold for $100 dollars with a grand prize total of $10,000 dollars to one winner.

All proceeds go toward the repairs and upkeep of the Christ the King Parish Center.

For more information, visit Christ the King, Houtzdale & Immaculate Conception, Osceola Mills on Facebook.