Annunciation Church festival goes on, less than a month after tragic shooting
A more than 40-year tradition continued Sunday at Annunciation Church, less than a month since the tragic shooting that claimed the lives of 10-year-old Harper Moyski and 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel.
For decades, Annunciation has hosted SeptemberFest: a weekend of fun, games, food and music, which serves as the church and school's annual fundraiser.
This year, the event continued on with renewed meaning.
According to organizers, it was the community that called for SeptemberFest to continue. While some of the programs have been shortened, and Friday and Saturday were limited to the parish and the school community, on Sunday everyone was welcome to stop by.
"I was very supportive of us doing it," said parishioner Mike Roaldi.
Roaldi's three kids all attend school at Annunciation.
"We all felt that it was an opportunity for the kids to come together and have fun and show how we're healing, show how we heal together," said Roaldi.
The festival means valuable time for kids, and community, to be together, he said.
"To be able to do this now after everything that's happened, I think is incredibly special, because it says that who we are before and who we are now is a community that's special, that comes together, that looks out for each other," said Roaldi. "We have each other, we look out for each other and we always will."