On September 17, Mount Michael enjoyed the annual Fall Festival. The special day is a Mount Michael tradition that brings the community together. In addition to providing interactions among the community, the festival provides funds to support the Mount Michael Abbey.
First started in 1955, Mount Michael tries to have a festival every year. Starting off slow as just a fun day in the monks’ backyard, the enthusiasm and excitement slowly grew every year. This year’s festival was the 68th annual festival, going virtual during COVID.
The Fall Festival brings all aspects of the community together for one day a year, making it special. Since the monks do not leave campus very often, the monastic community was able to see parents during the festival, that they would otherwise never met. More importantly, the returning alumni can see old classmates, teachers, and deans.
“My favorite past Fall Festival event was the hot air balloons,” Bro. Jerome Kmiecik said. A past student favorite is the legendary “dunk a monk” where students could dunk one of the monastic members in a dunk tank.
Before the Fall Festival even starts, the planning and setting up process is not trouble-free. “Lining up entertainment, working with vendors and volunteers, creating a schedule, and the overall planning everything,” Mr. Seth Pierce said.
This year’s festival had a variety of activities for everyone to do. With inflatable axe throwing, bounce houses, a soccer dart board, and a inflatable batting cage, all the kids had many things to keep them entertained. Many also got their face painted with anything from tigers to Among Us characters.
Another popular game with the kids was the various yard games throughout the field. Yard pong was popular, throwing a foam ball into small buckets trying to clear the board. Jenga, giant connect 4, and corn hole also being played by everyone.
With the Fall Festival came a corn hole tournament. With adults and students participating, it quickly became a very popular event this year. This year, Xavier Zimmerman ‘26 and Brady Quinlivan ‘26 won the tournament. “We put our sweat, blood, and tears into this competition. Honestly, there was no doubt in my mind that we would absolutely smoke the competition,” Quinlivan said. In addition to winning some money, they also got a hat and t-shirt.
The Mount Michael Fall Festival has brought the community together every year. This year was no exception. With about 600 people making an appearance, this year’s Fall Festival marked a return to normalcy. Helping fund the abbey, this year was a great success.
