St. Vincent Ferrer Church Hosts Carnival for the Community

From left: Al Powers, Armand Blais and Deacon Jose Ibarra prepare for the first St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church International Festival and Carnival, which will be open to the public Sept. 20-22.

Officials at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church is Menifee are excited to host the church's first International Festival and Carnival, scheduled for Sept. 20-22. According to the organizers, the church's main goal is to create a fun, affordable event for the entire community to enjoy.

"We want to stress that this is an event for the entire community, from Perris to Temecula; everyone is welcome," said Armand Blais, a Grand Nights of Columbus member and head of St. Vincent Ferrer's carnival committee.

Blais said that the church is stressing that this is a community event and not just for church members. St. Vincent Ferrer members aim to make the carnival an annual event for local residents.

The festival will be located two lots down from the church in a vacant lot on Murrieta Road (left). There will be different types of music entertainment every night and the carnival will include 12-17 rides and affordable food.

Tickets for rides can be purchased before Sept. 19 at the church for a discounted price of 20 tickets for $10. Regular price for tickets the day of the event will be 24 tickets for $20.

There will also be raffles for prizes such as a 42-inch television, an Xbox 360 with Kinect, a fourth generation 16 gigabyte iPad, a BBQ set and tickets to SeaWorld and Knotts Berry Farm. Each raffle ticket will cost $2. A 2014 Chevy Silverado truck will also be raffled away; the winner of the truck will be announced Oct. 13 at the Southern California Fair in Perris.

The grand prize will be a trip to Europe, where the winner will travel to locations including Fatima, Portugal; Lourdes, France; La Salette, France; and four days in Rome at the Vatican. Raffle tickets for this prize will be $10.

"We really want the whole community to come out and have a good time," said Blais. "We want to make this an affordable annual event."

For more information on the festival, contact St. Vincent Ferrer Church at 951-679-4531 or visit the church, located at 27931 Murrieta Road.