St. Vincent de Paul Church, the originator of the Peach Festival, will hold its 32nd annual event Sunday.
For Terry Choules, it’s only his fourth year organizing the festival, which he says will follow the familiar and popular pattern of previous years.
One difference will be the pies, although they are still as delicious as ever, he says.
For the first three decades, the women of the church gathered every year in the parish hall on Davy Street to peel and cut peaches, make the pastry, add the filling and bake the 600 peach pies that would disappear quickly Sunday morning.
They still disappear, and they are still wonderful, but now they are made by Sweetie Pie’s Bakery in St. Catharines.
“It was just getting too much for the women,” says Choules.
He is finding it harder every year to get enough volunteers from the church’s aging parish to do the work necessary to put on the event, but all of the activities are back.
There will be 500 pies for sale, and 100 pies to be cut up and sold as slices with ice cream, he says, and expect the pies to be sold out in an hour, or two at the most after the 10 a.m. opening.
There will be peach crepes, sundaes and punch. “Anything with peaches, we’ve got it,” says Choules.
There will be live entertainment, face-painting and balloons for the kids, Therapy Tails will be on hand with their dogs, and the craft, jam, jewelry, and used books tables will be back.
The barbecue will feature hot dogs and burgers, there will be pork on a bun, and the popular corn on the cob will be available.
Fresh peaches, donated by farmers who are church members, will be for sale.
This year’s proceeds from the event, which is attended by visitors from the U.S. and Ontario, will go to restoring the parish hall, says Choules.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 11 at the St. Vincent de Paul Church, at 73 Picton Street.
