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HARVEST FESTIVAL FUN
Popular St. Anthonys event today & Sunday
HF booth
Shown with a refurbished Harvest Festival booth are, from left, Craig Yeszin, Richard Gruber, and Leo DeGroot.

St, Anthony’s Harvest Festival has served as a Manteca fall tradition for more than 50 years for Catholics and non-church members alike.

From a wide cultural repertoire of food such as tacos, tamales, lumpia, adobo, turon and much more to the popular farmers market and carnival style games the event staged at the grounds of St. Anthony’s Church at North Street and Fremont Avenue packs in crowds every year.

There is no admission to the grounds. Festival hours are today from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday noon to 8 p.m.

The live auction will be on Sunday from 1:30 to 4 p.m. The auction bidding will be entertaining as ever and the event will be a good time for all who participate.  Food, beer, good company, friends, entertainment, and unique bidding items are sure to please the regulars and new bidders as well.   This year credit and debit cards will also be accepted for payment of winning bids.  There will be the famous sweet bread along with many other items to be auctioned.  items for the live auction can still be donated by contacting the church office.

Bingo is back by popular demand.   It will begin at 1 p.m. both today and Sunday. The buy in is $10 for 10 games with additional cards and games for purchase. 

Pull Tabs are back and available throughout both days of the Festival.  Major raffle has two grand prizes this year: A grand California Tour package with passes to Northern and Southern California attractions, and an Ultimate Entertainment package to include a 50-inchTV, an Xbox, and a recliner. There is also a bazaar and silent auction.

All your favorite children’s games are back.   They will come away a winner with either a candy or token to purchase a prize from the prize booth.

Favorite food items are back.   Some new additions are combo pizza, s’more pizza, chili cheese dogs, garlic fries, chili cheese fries, and Starbucks Double Shot over ice.   Nothing Bundt Cakes in flavors of chocolate chocolate chip, lemon, lemon raspberry and white chocolate raspberry are offered while they last. 

The beer garden will be a great place to rest, eat, and gather with friends.   Again this year regular and specialty beer will be available. 

The highlight of the Festival is Sunday Mass which will start at 10:30 a.m. on the festival grounds.  The theme of this year’s festival is “Doing God’s work”.   One element of that work is caring for the environment, and people.   Festival attendees can learn more about how the church supports caring for the environment by visiting the Ministry booth.   Attendees can also learn more about Social Security from the Social Security representative who will be available to answer questions. 

Thirty four booths have been used for the past 30 years at the festival.  No significant maintenance or improvements were done during that time.  This year a restoration project was initiated.  Volunteers disassembled, painted, and reassembled half of the booths.  Special paint that stops rust was used on the metal frames, the side boards were painted, and new tarp roofs were installed.   The restoration required a lot of physical work which resulted in only half of the booths being refurbished for this year’s festival.   The remaining booths will be completed next year.