Record year for St. Mary's Festival
Mon, Jul 14, 2008 
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BY MARIE HAVENGA
mhavenga@grandhaventribune.com
SPRING LAKE — The Rev. Len Sudlik of St. Mary's Catholic Church walked out of Saturday's white elephant fundraiser with polka records in tow.
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"I bought some polka records that I'm going to transfer to CD," he said.
The rest of St. Mary's parish and other community members apparently didn't skip a beat during the church's annual fundraising festival.
St. Mary's recorded another record year making money for its parochial school, according to festival chairwoman Monica Twa. The one-day festival on Saturday raised more than $53,000, up from about $50,000 last year.
All proceeds will go toward the school's operating budget, according to Twa.
"We had a couple of areas that were higher than ever this year," she said Sunday. "We had about $25,000 in raffle ticket sales and we paid out $11,500. I think it was a great festival."
David and Theresa VanVeelen of Nunica won the raffle's $10,000 grand prize. Runners-up were Fruitport residents Ken and Kathleen Johnston ($1,000) and Mathew Brakoro of Spring Lake ($500). All winners were St. Mary's parishioners, according to Twa.
Ominous weather loomed Saturday morning, with heavy rain showers in the Tri-Cities area. Twa said she and her festival volunteers were prepared to move indoors to the parish gymnasium, but the sky cleared for outdoor children's games, Knights of Columbus miniature train, adult bingo, beer tent and live entertainment, and pig and turkey roast dinners.
"I think it was a great time for everyone," Twa said. "We had a huge crowd for (musical entertainer) Michael Beans, and everyone enjoyed Max and Ruth Bloomquist (from Muskegon) when they played. We have no actual attendance counts, but we think attendance was very good."
Angelo Marasco said he and his crew cooked four hogs, averaging 180 pounds each, and 12 turkeys to feed more than 600 people at Saturday's roast.
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Twa said it costs parents about $2,100 per child for tuition at St. Mary's Parish School. She anticipates the weekend festival, which is one of three annual tuition fundraisers, to put a huge dent in future tuitions.
"This festival brings everyone together for a family oriented time," Twa said. "The whole community came out to support our school and Catholic education, and 100 percent of the money goes toward our operating budget. It helps keep tuition affordable for parents."
