By Sharon Shouse

Fall is in the air, the Georgia Bulldogs are "hunkering down" and Athens is a lively place. Nowhere is there more excitement than at St. Joseph's Church, as parishioners and friends prepare for the parish's 110th birthday, Sunday, October 3.

It is a tradition at St. Joseph's for parishioners to join together to celebrate the church's long history, to give thanks for the many blessings during the past years and to look forward to many more years of love and service to the Catholic community of Athens and northeast Georgia. After all, St. Joseph's Church has been the center for Catholic life in the area since 1872.

Again this year, the birthday celebration takes the form of a Fall Festival. Activities are planned with the whole family in mind, so parents, children, grandparents and friends can spend the day together, enjoying themselves in the warm, loving atmosphere that is St. Joseph's.

At 11 a.m. the birthday begins on a note of thanksgiving as pastor, Father William Calhoun, and associate pastor, Father Hugh Marren, celebrate Mass outdoors. After Mass, the festival begins. Lots of music will abound. The popular Kappa Delta Washboard Band will return this year plus the excitement of the Winterville Cloggers. After some entertainment, the huge (and fun-filled) auction will begin. Priceless wonders will abound, from chandeliers donated by a parishioner to a child's antique rocking horse, to a case of homemade blueberry jam. Then, of course, there are the donated services, such as 10 hours of free babysitting, cake decorating, bartending at a party, room painting, dinners for two at local restaurants and a tailgate party for six at a UGA game.

The delicious food that will be served during the festivities includes Italian sausages with onions and peppers, hotdogs for the children, bowls of chili, roast beef sandwiches, chips, candy apples, popcorn, soft drinks and a bake sale.

For the youngsters in the crowd, whether eight or 80, there will be putt-putt golf, face painting, balloons, a cake walk, apple bobbing, a fishing pond, squirt the candle and a parcel post booth.

All carnival activities are sponsored and coordinated by various church groups. Marriage Encounter will have a coffee booth, the Girl Scouts will handle a paperback book booth, the Boy Scouts plan a car wash and the school children of the parish have donated the "used but in good shape" toys for their parcel post booth. And, of course, Sister Agnes, Sister Sharon and Sister Helen Michael, IHM, will don their popular "Pocket Lady aprons full of goodies for the children.

All proceeds from this year's Fall Festival have been specially earmarked for the St. Joseph Building and Development Fund.

Led by Pam Harris, church members have united together and worked very hard to make this Fall Festival a big success. It has been designed as an old-fashioned birthday party that the whole family will enjoy. All families and friends of St. Joseph's Church in Athens are invited to join our tradition of joyously celebrating our church's birthday.