Within the truehearted neighborhood of Western Kentucky, faith, family and fun come together every year at the St. John Picnic. The celebration of God and community is organized by St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Paducah. While the annual gathering happens at the beginning of September as the parish is ushering in the start of fall, this year marks a special moment in the picnic’s history.
St. John Catholic Church is blessed to commemorate the 6oth anniversary of its picnic. Through years of serving the community and being a destination event for families of all backgrounds, the picnic continues with caution during its anniversary year as the COVID-19 pandemic surges throughout the state.
While last year’s picnic suffered a cancellation when the virus affected the region, the 6oth anniversary picnic is trying to give the community a smaller, more confined event to ensure the safety of everyone without taking away the fun.
In a typical year, the St. John Picnic offers each visitor multitudes of excitement through food, carnival games, live music, fireworks, raffles, bingo, and an annual 5K run to kick off the day. The bountiful food is provided by the St. John Knights of Columbus, a men’s group for Catholics dedicated to aiding the community and various congregations through charitable events and service. The group kicks off the picnic with a fish fry earlier in the week, where all the proceeds are donated to St. John Church. The remaining events all follow on Saturday, where families and picnic-goers enjoy music, games, and food all set up outside of the church.
In order to keep the community safe and maintain a healthy congregation, the St. John Picnic will look a lot smaller this year as the fish fry, and various raffle ticket sales are the only events still being conducted due to the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the Western Kentucky area.
Despite the loss of a few other events, St. John Catholic Church is thankful to be celebrating its 6oth year of hosting such an enjoyable and community driven-event, even if there are fewer activities this year.
Many years ago, when the picnic came into fruition, the goal for parishioners of St. John was not only to have fun but also to find a way to generate some revenue for their small, beloved church. The goal remains the same today as all the proceeds made from the sale of raffle tickets and food go towards the church that so many call home.
“The St. John Picnic is an event reflecting how God works through the community to bring people together for a wholesome event,” said Chad Willet, chairman of the St. John Picnic. “It is a place where friendship and fellowship combine to welcome people regardless of their religious beliefs.”
As September sits just right around the corner, St. John Catholic Church welcomes everyone to their picnic regardless of religious background and looks back fondly on the past 6o years of blessings that the picnic has given to the community.
