St. Helen Spring Festival continues tonight, Sunday

Credit: DAVID MOODIE/CONTRIBUTED

Credit: DAVID MOODIE/CONTRIBUTED

The 69th annual St. Helen Spring Festival will be back in full swing this year after being forced to scale down due to the coronavirus pandemic the past two years.

“We’re excited to be able to put this back on and we’re hoping that everyone comes out and celebrates with us,” said Michelle Westerfield, who serves as one of the festival publicity chairs.

The festival, Friday, June 10 through Sunday, June 12, will feature live entertainment, rides, games, a 5K, raffles and a variety of foods and drinks.

“There’s a little something for everyone,” added publicity chair Colleen Kirby.

Throughout the weekend, there will be 19 bands playing at two different stages. There will also be family-friendly games like basketball, krazy klown and a football toss. Adult games include bingo, over/under, beat the dealer and much more.

The publicity chairs also said attendees will not go hungry at the festival. Festival favorites include cabbage rolls, Salisbury steak, bourbon chicken, pizza, corn on the cob and funnel cakes. For drinks, there will be a Smith Garden Beer Selection that includes beer such as Miller Lite and Leinenkugel Summer Shandy and a Vacation Station Beer Selection with local brews from Warped Wing.

Warped Wing is creating an exclusive cask ale, a heavily hopped hydro haze, for the festival. Supplies will be limited.

Thousands of people from all over the Miami Valley will attend the festival, the publicity chairs said. Many will participate in their raffles.

Organizers will draw a $100 winner every hour, a $1,000 winner Friday evening, a $1,000 winner Saturday evening and a $10,000 Sunday evening. Winners do not need to be present to win. Tickets will be sold at the Main Booth and online. The festival will also feature a basket raffle.

If you’re wondering about parking, there will be a free shuttle to the festival from Carroll High School.

Organizers will begin setting up for the family-friendly festival at the end of May when school lets out. The festival is volunteer operated and organized by families with strong ties to St. Helen.

Proceeds from the festival will benefit St. Helen’s Parish and St. Helen Catholic School. St Helen Parish, established in 1953, is a Roman Catholic parish of 1,300 families in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

The publicity chairs said they are super excited about the festival and are thankful for the positive feedback so far.

Hours of the festival are as follows:

Friday, June 10: 6:30 p.m. to midnight

Saturday, June 11: 1 p.m. to midnight

Sunday, June 12: 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.

For more information about the festival, located at 5086 Burkhardt Road in Dayton, visit www.sthelenfestival.org.

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