Holy church fest: St. Angela Merici SummerFest

Image via downtownfullerton.com

Northern Orange County: home to Disneyland, Medieval Times, Knott’s Berry Farm, the first Yogurt Land and little ol’ me. I’ve lived in Fullerton practically my whole life, aside from the times I moved thirty minutes away for college and thousands of miles away abroad. Fullerton has been a fantastic place to grow up; it has character, a good amount of diversity, and some pretty awesome history. Some of my most fond memories of growing up here begin when my parents decided to send my brother and I to Catholic school when I was going in junior high. When they initially told us that we were jumping ship from public to private school, pubescent me was pretty unhappy, but the move for us was the best decision they could have ever made for us.

St. Juliana’s brought a lot of new and exciting things to my life- uniforms, hot lunch from KFC & McDonalds, and of course, new friends. Arguably the most exciting  addition to my new life as a Catholic school girl life was the St. Juliana Fall Festival. The Fall Festival was one of our school’s main modes of fund raising and included your typical carnival fun and fare. There were rides manned by toothless gypsy carnies, a dunk tank, silly string wars, a cake walk, and all the unhealthy food you can imagine. At the time, there were few things I looked forward to more in the school year.

Welcome to SummerFest!

Fast-forward ten years and my, how things change. I went to the Fall Festival this year as my brother and sister currently attend St. Juliana’s, and let me tell you, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Far too many kids, far too little booze, and the nachos, though good, were not enough to suffice. So clearly, I’d be a fool to brave another church fest at this point in my life right?

Well, St. Angela Merici, a Catholic church/school just up the street in Brea, held their 23rd annual SummerFest this past weekend and I did just that.  Here’s why: Pat Benatar and Neil Girardo, The Pointer Sisters, and Eddie Money. Believe it or not, all of those righteous legends performed at SummerFest this year. If you’re wondering how in the hell St. Angela’s racked up acts that would normally not step near a church fest, I’ll let you in on some inside info. A parishoner of St. Angela’s happens to be a powerful figure in the entertainment industry (a manager, I believe) so every year for as long as I can remember, they’ve had performances by the likes of The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, The Romantics, Sugar Ray, Dublin and many more.

Lured by free admission, close proximity to my house, the promise of nachos, and “I’m So Excited” ringing in my head, I decided to brave the crowds (SummerFest draws about 25,000 people every year) with three pre-pubescent children. Parking was quite the event- the streets around St. Angela’s were jam packed, but thankfully it was free. Stepping into the fest, I realized this thing was like the St. J’s fest on crack. Everything was bigger- and dare I say it- better. The stage was a real stage with professional lighting, big projection screens and hundreds of seats for a surely large audience. The ride section was ours on steroids; sure they had the Zipper and a giant slide, but they also had a roller coaster, some insane twirly ride, and even one that simulated hand-gliding! Woah.

Connor, Carolyn & Natalie on the $6 roller coaster

Within an hour, we had spent $60 on rides for the three kids- each of those frikin’ rides included a 10-20 minute wait in line and a 3-6 ticket price tag. Just FYI, one ticket=$1. So ya, the roller coaster that they went on for less than a minute- 6 FLIPPING TICKETS. Do you know what I can buy with $6? A beer. A beer that lasts much longer than a minute and provides wayyyy more enjoyment. While the kids burned through their tickets, I sat back and observed the droves of teenagers wearing ill-fitting clothing, acting too cool for school, and flirting with their crush of the week. It was almost too much to bear, so I relocated and waited for the kids while enjoying a beer and watching the U2 tribute band rocking the stage.

Though not a fan of U2, I gotta say these guys were pretty good. I sat there and managed to enjoy for a bit, but by 8pm, the kids were done with their tickets and The Pointer Sisters were no where in sight so for fear I would spend more money on stupid tickets, drink myself into a stupor, or yell at some moronic teenager, I decided to bring the troops home and skip out on my chance to recreate Hugh Grant’s epic dance from Love Actually to “Jump (For My Love)”.  That could be done at home.

At another time in my life, St. Angela’s SummerFest may have given me great thrill, and who knows, maybe in 10+ years when I have kids of my own, it will be a great time for the family. Now, though, I think I’ll stick to what I do best at 24 years old- drinking, eating, and having a good time with kids my own age, and I suggest you do the same.

Fest on,

Shayna

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