St. Anthony of Padua Festival returning to Windham

A special Mass in honor of their patron saint, a procession and an outdoor festival will draw parishioners and community members to Windham on July 15 and July 16 for the second annual St. Anthony of Padua Festival.

The St. Anthony of Padua Festival is returning on July 15
and July 16 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church
at 919 Roosevelt Trail, Windham. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE 

The festival, which will be held on the grounds of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church at 919 Roosevelt Trail, was initially held last summer to celebrate the formation of St. Anthony of Padua Parish (Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Windham, St. Anne Church in Gorham, St. Anthony of Padua Church in Westbrook, Our Lady of Sebago Chapel in East Sebago).

It was so heavily attended and successful that parish leadership decided to make it an annual occurrence, church officials said.

“It’s wonderful meeting everybody from the other churches on a more personal, casual level,” said Carol Kennie, one of the festival organizers. “It’s amazing the talent, the interest, and the enthusiasm that we have from everyone.”

A special Mass honoring St. Anthony followed by a procession to the St. Anthony Shrine will be held on Friday, July 15, at 6 p.m.

The festival itself will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 16, followed by a Mass at 4 p.m. and a festival-closing dinner at 5 p.m. Festival activities will feature live music; booths with handmade items, jewelry and books; a silent auction with items such as bicycles, kayaks and a homemade quilt; a yard sale; raffles; and lots of food, including Luigi’s Italian Foods, homemade meatball sandwiches, clam cakes, fried dough, hamburgers and hotdogs, and pizza.

Participants can also purchase a S’mores kit and roast them over a fire pit, and after the 4 p.m. Mass, the Knights of Columbus will host a chicken barbecue dinner.

Everyone is welcome to attend all or any part of the weekend’s schedule.

For more information, contact St. Anthony of Padua Parish at 207-857-0490 or send an email to stanthonys@portlanddiocese.org, or visit www.stanthonysparish.org. <