For the Antigo Times

Antigo’s largest Catholic parish will have its main fund raising event this Sunday at the Langlade County Fairgrounds. St. John Catholic Church will host the 4th Annual International Food and Fall Festival from 8:30 am until 4:30 pm.

There is no charge for the full day of activities and unique dining opportunities. The day will kick off at 8:30am with O’ Brien’s Big Irish Breakfast and the Salm’s Belgian waffles. There will be polka masses at 9 and 11 a.m. with Pastor Dave Schmidt, featuring the band, “Smokey Express” in the Pavillion.

At 10 am, the International Food Court, booths, and raffles will open in the Multi- Purpose Building. Plan on sampling a variety of ethnic foods and beverages from the countries of: United States, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, and Poland. If you have a sweet tooth, there are also ethnic desserts, gourmet cupcakes, and the Bell Sisters’ Sweet  Shoppe featuring old-fashioned sodas. Many of you will know the families that are preparing the delicious cuisines from their heritage countries, where their recipes have been handed down through the generations.

At 11 am, the kids will have a blast in the “Kids Zone” with inflatable jump-house. There will also be fun games with Lucky Duck Pool, pumpkin toss, minnow races, football toss, an “eggs in a haystack” search, a Nerf hunt, and an obstacle course.

Live entertainment will be offered throughout the day starting at 11:30 am with an acoustic show featuring Jason McNabb. At 1:30 pm, Gene & Terry Lettau with the “II Edition” band will take the stage. There will be fun photobooths to have memorable pictures taken with friends with a variety of crazy hats and props.

Starting at noon the Sunday NFL football games will be shown on flat screen TVs in the Beer Garden and 50/50 raffles will be offered throughout the afternoon.

There will also be a silent auctions offered during the day with prizes consisting of a Green Bay Packer autographed football, Wisconsin Badger tickets, wine baskets, Clara R. McKenna Aquatic Center and golf gift certificates, and Ken’s Meat Market and Palace Theater packages to name a few.

Visit the many booths, such as the “Purse-onality” booth with new and gently used name-brand purses, scarves, and jewelry. The sports booth will have items from the Packers, Badgers, Brewers, and all things Red Robins. And of course there will be “A Taste of St. John” booth with bakery, candy, jams and Erla Marvin’s “Legendary Long Johns”.  There is also a “Food for the Soul”  booth with religious articles, with many items for all those special occasions.

Other raffles will be offered during the day, including a themed basket booth, a “money cake,” and a child-size 2016 Honda CRF50F dirt bike. Of special, grand prize interest is a beautiful, designer, queen size quilt on a cream-colored background with multi-color quilted, circle, floral, patterns, sewn beautifully by Thelma Lamont.

Starting at 4 pm, the many raffles will be drawn including a cooler full of beverages, a hanging wicker chair, Peroutka’s meats, a Packers/Brewers neon sign, and a kayak. The final drawings at 4:15 pm consist of a freezer full of meat and a Toro zero-turn lawn mower, culminating with the final drawing at 4:30 for the 2016 Ford Escape provided with the cooperation of Langlade Ford.