The St. Gerard Festival, complete with its famous wings, will return for another year starting Friday.
LIMA — The 43rd annual St. Gerard Festival will return this weekend for the second straight year after two years off due to the pandemic. Organizer Kelly Stolly thinks people are going to be ready to get out and enjoy the celebration and good weather just as they were in 2022.
“I think people were just ready to get out and celebrate and enjoy that good food,” Stolly said. “We really haven’t changed too much because why would you change anything that’s working so well?”
The festival, which celebrates the St. Gerard Catholic Church community, will run from Friday to Sunday at the church and will feature games, food and drinks, rides and plenty of entertainment from various performers, as well as a cornhole tournament.
“We’ve had a long tradition in the north end of the city and it’s a great festival for the community,” Stolly said. “People look forward to coming out to celebrate the beginning of the summer and the end of school. It’s just a great family event.”
Stolly said that she is looking forward to several things at the event, including wings that the festival is famous for, as well as a chicken dinner on Sunday, and the raffle prizes and games that are scheduled.
“We also have entertainment scheduled all weekend long, kicking off on Friday at 5 p.m.,” she said. “We go all the way through to the big ticket drawing worth $10,000 at 9 p.m. Sunday. We have everything that you would expect out of a parish festival.”
But Stolly just hopes that people have fun at the event.
“We’d love people to come out and make memories with their kids,” she said. “It’s a great time to be back for the college students, and the Lima Locos are back in town, so we get a good showing from the new kids who are here to play baseball. It’s a great time to show them that there are a lot of fun things to do here in Lima.”
Despite the high demand for the famous chicken wings, Stolly said that festivalgoers should not have to worry about missing out.
“There is usually a long line so we’ve actually upped our numbers this year so hopefully we can last a little longer throughout the weekend,” she said.
Tickets for the raffle drawing and rides are being sold at the parish office and the St. Gerard Catholic School office, but they will go fast.
For more information, visit the St. Gerard website.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: St. Gerard Parish Festival
WHEN: Starting at 5 p.m. Friday with events continuing through Sunday
WHERE: St. Gerard Catholic Church, 240 W. Robb Ave., Lima.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
