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 "The Granddaddy of Church Festivals" |
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The FUN begins at 11 a.m. BINGO Kids Rides & Games Arts, Crafts, Souvenirs Food & Drink Booths |
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NO Admission Fee to Park Grounds Afternoon Silent Auction Annual Horseshoe Hand-Stitched |
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Alsatian Sausage & BBQ Beef Dinner |
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Plates $6.50 Serving 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. |
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One hundred and twenty-seven years ago, a gathering of only a handful of St. Louis parish families and their friends met in Biediger’s river bottom near Castroville, to celebrate the feast day of St. Louis IX of France, and the now century-and a quarter-old St. Louis Day Celebration was born.The "granddaddy" of church festivals celebrates its birthday on the Sunday closest to, and before August 25 at the tree-shaded Koenig Park on the banks of the Medina River. An ideal spot for a picnic, there is plenty of room to relax and enjoy the day. If these old pecan trees could talk, they would surely tell some fascinating tales of many St. Louis Days gone by.Whereas those first picnics gathered only a small group, the attendance today has grown to many times the town’s size. Visitors from far and wide find their way to Koenig Park each year. The guest book shows visitors from all over Texas, the U.S. and numerous foreign countries. No wonder the giant picnic has been dubbed "Homecoming for the State of Texas" by the Texas Tourist Agency. The day kicks off in dignified style with Mass at 9 a.m. in historic St. Louis Catholic Church. Reverend Jim Conway is pastor of the St. Louis Parish Family. Well before 10 a.m. on picnic day, things are buzzing on the Koenig Park grounds. The highlight of every St. Louis Day, the serving of the giant barbecued beef and Alsatian style sausage dinner, begins at 11 a.m. and continues until about 2:00 p.m.After the huge barbecue pits are fed an adequate supply of mesquite coals, a virtual mountain of prime boneless beef is placed in the pits and cooked to perfection by some 50 volunteer barbecuers. In the cool early hours of Saturday morning a crew of local experienced sausage makers have seasoned and stuffed around two tons of sausage using a century old sausage recipe. The sausage is stored in a spacious walk-in cooler until Sunday morning when it is cooked and served. Tons of potato salad and cole slaw, huge vats of pinto beans, bread, tea and coffee round out the menu that about 500 volunteer workers will dish out to more than 2,000 hungry people per hour.During the afternoon picnic, food booths appear all about the park. Sausage buns, barbecue beef buns, nachos, homemade cake, ice cream and snow cones are available along with cold beer, ice tea, limeade, soft drinks and chilled wine coolers.Entertainment includes live performances on an outdoor stage by popular bands and singing and dance groups. A silent auction inside air-conditioned Koenig Park Hall features handcrafted items, antiques and art. Booths featuring trash ‘n treasures, plants, gaily dressed dolls and bingo will keep crowds amused all afternoon.Kids Korner features numerous rides and games -- the fish pond, dunking booth and the now-famous St. Louis Downs "horseracing" booth--all proving to be favorites. The annual St. Louis Day Horseshoe Pitching Tournament will pit mens and ladies champions of past picnics against many new challengers. Music and singing will be heard throughout the day, as old and new friends meet and "relive" many of St. Louis Day gone by.Raffle drawings cap the day’s events. Beautiful hand-stitched quilts are raffled by St. Ann’s Society. The "Pot of Gold" drawing consists of a long slate of gift certificates and merchandise prizes. Free parking is available near the park or on the square in front of church with free shuttle bus service between the park and the square. There is no charge to enter the park. |
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Special Morning Feature |
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Mass in historic St. Louis Catholic Church at 9
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For more information, call 830-931-2826. Visit www.stlouisday.com |
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