Festa Live!

Where would any self-respecting city of Italian heritage be without a Bocce Court? The Bocce Club Complex, in the 300 block of West Walnut, has been a labor of love for a hard-working group of Herrinites. Steve Hampton and his wife Kelly; Rick and Kathy Lynn; Rick Alegnani; and the Hamann family – Karl, Diane, and Donnie; are who keep Herrin Bocce “rolling”. Read more…

If you have ever stopped by for a drink at the HerrinFesta Wine Booth, chances are you have met Pat and Carole McCuan.  Carole is a 25 year employee at Herrin Security Bank, and Pat works at Agers Heating, installing heating and air conditioning units.  Together, they have managed the wine booth for the past six years.  Their job begins the day before Festa starts, when they decorate the booth with ivy, grapes and lattice work, and make up work schedules for all the volunteers who come back each year to be “bartender for a day”.  According to Carole, it was easy to learn, and a lot of fun.  They started as volunteers themselves, and enjoyed it so much they wanted to keep doing it.  Fun giveaway items are donated by the liquor distributors, and these free gifts are one thing that keeps customers coming back.  Carole says, “We always look forward to HerrinFest.  It’s fun working in the wine booth, and you meet so many new people every year.”  This year, be sure to stop by the wine booth, order a drink, and say “hello” and “thanks” to Carole and Pat McCuan.

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Bob Scillufo and Craig Herman are indeed HerrinFesta volunteers, but most Herrinites and visitors from out of town will never see them at work, for they are out at dawn, while exhausted revelers are still sleeping off the effects of too much beer, music, and salameats. The tools they use are simple – rakes, brooms, blowers, and trash bags – but their duties are far from simple. Each morning of HerrinFesta, they show up to supervise the clean-up detail, one of the most important, and least visible jobs. Bob is Co-Manager of the Murphysboro Kroger, and Craig is a teacher’s aide at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School in Herrin, but from Friday morning through Tuesday morning of HerrinFesta, these two can be seen, blower or rake in hand, wading through the piles of garbage left behind after the shows, the rides, and the contests are over. Read more…

For Piazza Chairman Brett Crouse, life gets easier when Lee and Debbie Perkins show up the week before Festa begins. Lee, owner of Southern Illinois Services, puts life on hold, and takes a “vacation” from work, to be the guy Brett counts on for everything from setting up the stage, to arranging the picnic tables, and transporting trash cans from King’s warehouses to the Festa grounds, as well as being on hand to fix anything that breaks down. Lee’s wife Debbie, and their daughters Mindy and Jessica, are right there too, making themselves available for whatever duties come up. Read more…