St Rose Parish recently held its annual carnival, welcoming parishioners and the public for four of the five scheduled nights of June 21-25. By all accounts — even with one night canceled due to rain — it was the best one the parish has seen since the first carnival was held in the 1950s.

It was the first time it ran since 2019 due to the COVID pandemic.

There were new rides, new games, and food offered from more than 12 local restaurants and caterers, all together filling the large expanse of the parish lawn.

While the weather forced the carnival to close on Wednesday evening, the subsequent three days saw a surge of people from the greater community, quite eager to enjoy everything the carnival had to offer.

At one point, the ticket line was so long, Monsignor Robert Weiss, pastor of St Rose Church, stepped in to help sell tickets so carnival goers did not waste time when they should be on rides.

The carnival is one of the parish’s biggest fund raisers, but its success is not measured in dollars alone.

“As I was walking around the carnival grounds, I realized why we work so hard to provide this event every year for our community and surrounding towns,” said Monsignor Weiss. “To see the excitement of the children and hear their laughter and their screams of joy, to see old friends reconnect and new friends made and to see people just enjoying themselves after all we have been through makes all the planning, organizing and hard work worth it.”

The St Rose Knights of Columbus offered their much-anticipated fried dough and the St Rose Squires ran a dunk tank in which Father Karol Ksiazek, parochial vicar, and seminarians David Klein and Juan Borda were all dunked in the spirit of fundraising.

Father Tomasz Przybyl, parochial vicar, and Sister Mary Ellen Genova were also on hand nightly to greet the community and support the carnival operations.

“So many hold on to the memories they have made from attending our carnival throughout the years,” said Monsignor Weiss, who also acknowledged the many volunteers who help make the event a reality and the generosity of local restaurants and vendors who donated food for the carnival.

The success of the carnival is a testament to the vibrancy of the St Rose Parish and the exceptional community it serves.