Fun Festival Finale

Sunny Sunday Sets the Scene for Sisters’ Final Spring Festival

When the last bingo ball bobbed to the surface and drew an enthusiastic “Bingo!” yell from the crowd on April 30, 2017, it signaled the end of an era in the robust 104-year history of the School Sisters of St. Francis in the United States. It closed the final Spring Festival at Mount Assisi Convent in Pittsburgh, where the sisters have been hosting the perennial event since at least the late 1950s.

Earlier this that year, our sisters voted to make it the final year for Festival. Most acknowledge it has become too massive a physical undertaking for our aging sisters and volunteers, but cannot deny their emotional attachment to the event. “The festival has meant so much to so many people,” Sister Cecilia Jacko says.

Sister Pat Marie Buranosky remembers helping with festival preparations as a candidate in the early 1960s, while Sister Georgette Dublino cherishes how the day has always embodied the best of the community. “I remember the many ways we made the festival look beautiful for all who came and how we had to shift with the weather,” she says. “But despite that, the people who came were so happy to see us.”

The festival saw many renditions over the years, from a three-day outdoor event to the single-afternoon indoor attraction of more recent years. Regardless of year or timing, the day has always set the backdrop for a kind of fellowship between the sisters and the surrounding community that has spanned generations.

The final festival day – which raised more than $45,000 – was bittersweet for Amy Shelleby, who has made the last Sunday in April a regular date on her family calendar. “I remember coming with my mother to the festival when I was a child. She graduated from Mount Assisi in 1960 and loved bringing me to Bellevue to show me where she went to school,” Amy says. “I now bring my children to the festival, and they look forward to it every year!”

Through the decades, patrons have been led to Festival by their tastebuds to satisfy cravings for scrumptious stuffed cabbage, baked chicken, kielbasi, haluski and homemade baked goods. They came for the food then stayed for the fun at booths synonymous with certain sisters, like Sister Genevieve Mary Jurick’s clowns, Sister Mercedes Benko’s crafts, and the ice cream stand run by Sisters Julie and Frances Jacko.

“The festival always marks the start of summer and the end of winter,” says Pat Pressler of Avalon, Pa., who began bringing her now adult children to Festival when they were small.

Over the years, Festival has been a destination for folks as close as neighboring Bellevue Borough to as far away as Texas and Florida. Alumnae near and far have been part of festival preparations for the past 18 years.

“Seeing all my ‘old’ teachers and classmates and the good feeling I get working at the festival – I’m right back in the ‘70s here at ‘The Mount,” says Diana Anzelone Brown of Millvale, Pa., who helps with the bingo.

Diana is among a small army of Mount Assisi Academy grads who return annually to their beloved alma mater for Festival Day. Their ongoing enthusiasm makes it a must to engage Mount Assisi alumnae in the smaller scale spring event the sisters are planning for future years.

The festival team has operated as a well-oiled machine, mixing tasks like packaging baked goods on Festival Eve with the revelry of seeing old friends and recounting good times – just some of the little things that have contributed to the enduring sense of tradition.

“I have been coming here every year with my mother and grandmother – over 20 years of memories,” says Ashley Jericho of Shaler, Pa. “I will never forget all the great times and people I’ve met.”

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2015 Spring Festival

2016 Spring Festival

2017 Spring Festival

2018 Spring Fling

2019 Spring Fling