Marshalltown residents take advantage of dry weather, gather for weekend events
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The first weekend in October had a flurry of activity attracting numerous people in Marshalltown.
Sunday saw the return of Francis Fest at St. Francis Catholic School and the Fall Festival at New Life Church.
Father Alan Dietzenbach said not only did Francis Fest have great weather after days of rain, but it also happened to fall on the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi.
"Between that happening and this beautiful fall weather . . . he's the patron of the beauty of creation, and I don't think we could have a much more beautiful day," he said. "It's been an awesome turnout and great mix of our community."
Hundreds of people gathered around the school within the first hour to listen to the music and enjoy the many foods offered.
"Everybody is showcasing the best of their cultures," Dietzenbach said, before adding Father Michael McAndrew was going to join the entertainment by singing some Italian arias. "We've got a mix of everything here."
He pointed out it was the first year Mexican folk dancers performed.
"The patrons love [Francis Fest,]" Dietzenbach said. "They love the food and the opportunity to gather with family and friends, spend the whole day here and get a little bit of a lot in a short time. This is not only a fundraiser for our parish, but more importantly, it's a community builder. That is our priority – getting people together and enjoying each other's company, even if we don't speak the same language or come from the same culture. We're all from the same community, and I think this highlights that."
Leading the way in organizing Francis Fest is Coordinator Hilda Santa Maria, a huge task she has taken on during the last four years. Planning meetings begin in June.
"It takes a lot to get this festivity prepared, but I thank the Lord I have a lot of support from parishioners," she said. "This event is not just for the parish and parishioners. It's for the whole community and everybody is welcome."
Many hands make light work, and that is proven with Francis Fest. Santa Maria said everything falls into place with many people volunteering. If any, the biggest challenge is ensuring enough supplies are on hand.
"We're a community that's growing, and we're becoming very diverse which is wonderful," she said. "I've noticed since the first year that we've had more people attend each year. Last year, there was about 800 people, and I anticipate more this year, because we are already running to get extra supplies, like plates and cups."
Parishioner Theresa Orlovsky has attended Francis Fest every year, and served as a volunteer at the soda and pulled pork booth.
"This is great and we have a new layout because of the repairs going on at St. Mary's," she said. "Last year we had the stage in a different place. I really like all the different varieties of music and food. . . . We eat really well at this festival. This is a nice community event where we all pitch in and it all comes together."
Francis Fest has seen some changes through the years. Dietzenbach said it started as the Festival on First. When the St. Henry and St. Mary parishes combined in 2019, the parish became St. Francis of Assisi and the name was changed to Francis Fest. When the Legionnaire's scare struck Marshalltown last year, the Catholic church decided to relocate the festival to the school, rather than hosting it downtown.
"We felt it was a little safer," he said. "This is our second year at this location. It's great. We have nice shade."
As Francis Fest was ongoing, an announcement was made inviting people to the one-hour Life Chain on Center Street. People stood by the street, holding signs to demonstrate respect for life and proclaim forgiveness is possible for those who have gotten abortions.
Harvest Hoedown
The weekend gatherings started with the Harvest Hoedown at Wolfe Ranch of Quakerdale on Saturday. Executive Director Beth Andrew said it was the third year of hosting the fall concert fundraiser, but it had another title.
"This is the third year of live music at this time of year," she said. "We called it 'Harmony on the Hooves' one year."
Emphasizing it as a family event, kids games and activities joined live music and food trucks for the Wolfe Ranch festivities.
"People are seeing the horses and hanging out under the stars," Andrew said. "We want this to be our best year yet. The two previous years, we competed with other events, so it wasn't as well-attended as we wanted. This has definitely succeeded our expectations."
Less than 50 people attended the previous concerts, but she added they worked hard to promote the event. The extra effort to attract attendees should help Wolfe Ranch as Andrew said the biggest thing that has come from the fall concerts has been horse riding lessons.
"People will call, send emails saying they were out here and would like riding lessons," she said.
Andrew has a lesson goal of 20 per week, and is confident they have enough people on the waiting list to meet that. There was a bit of a lull in the numbers as the ranch was between riding instructors, but they filled the position recently with Miss Rodeo Iowa Grace Collins.
"She started this week," Andrew said. "We can get 20 a week really quick."
Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.