OLEAN — The music of the Beach Boys, Chicago and Taylor Swift will provide a rocking soundtrack to the 42nd St. John’s Italian Festival.
With its warm meatball sandwiches, cold beer, live music, bocce tournaments and raffles, the annual festival and fundraiser for St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church has given community members a fun summer event in North Olean for more than 40 years. It will run from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 27.
“Everything is on track. Now we’re just holding out for the weather,” event chair John Baglione told the Times Herald. “Everybody is on board. We’ve got great participation, great volunteers, we’ve got great chairpeople who got this thing going and in motion, so we’re ready.”
One of the main selling points for this year’s festival is the live music lineup. In hopes of having something for everyone, the local Larry Lewicki Band will kick off the music at noon followed by All About the Swifties: A Taylor Swift Tribute at 2 p.m., Beach Boys tribute the Beach Party Boys at 4 and Chicgo tribute band Chicago Transit at 7 o’clock. Additionally, DJ Gary Hendryx will be on site all day.
“We’re excited by the entertainment we’re bringing in, the calibre and the diversity,” said Steve Plesac, who helped book the groups for the day. “They’re all really top-notch entertainers and people are going to be in for an exciting and entertaining show.”
All About the Swifties features Carla Sacco, who brings the spirit and energy of Swift to her performances. A professional tribute and recording artist, Sacco has traveled the globe, and her infectious smile and soaring vocals make her a true pop star. Attendees will hear all their favorite Swift songs and have a whole lot of fun.
The Beach Party Boys are in their 10th year of touring and have been describe as “the ultimate beach party coming to life.” The show is fast-paced and interactive with a focus on nostalgia to awaken all the teenage hearts who carried a Transistor Radio in the ‘60s. Members have played in Beach Boys tribute concerts over the last 25, even joining the real Beach Boys on stage during a show in Montreal, Canada.
Chicago Transit was one of the first Chicago tribute bands in the world when they came together in the early ’90s, remaining today as the longest-running and the only one to carry four lead vocalists, just as the real Chicago does. The band has a three-piece horn section, four-piece rhythm section and five vocalists than can cover early and later classics alike, even getting credit from the real band itself.
Plesac said they used to book similar tribute shows for the festival in previous decades, but changes to the festival over the years led to entertainment changes as well. Although he hadn’t helped book the music for quite a while, Plesac said Baglione reached out to him this year.
“I think the entertainment we’re bringing in is really going to surprise folks,” he said. “They’re going to very compelling and engaging with the audience, and we’re hoping for a large crowd throughout the day.”
A man plays bocce at a previous St. John’s Festival in Olean. This year’s festival is set for Saturday, July 27.
BEYOND THE entertainment, many Italian food favorites will be served up for attendees, including meatball sandwiches, Italian sausage with peppers and onions, beans and greens, ziti with broccoli, pasta e fagioli, spiedies and cannolis. Other offerings include pizza, hot dogs, fried dough, ice cream and a bake sale.
“We’re coming back with a lot of Italian foods we didn’t have last year because we didn’t have the expertise,” Baglione said, “but we’ve learned over the course of this year how to do them.”
In addition to food, there will be $20,000 in cash gifts. Tickets are $100 a piece for a chance to win $10,000 as the top prize as well as one $2,000, three $1,000, six $500 and 10 $200 payouts.
“That’ll be announced right around 8 o’clock or 8:30 Saturday night,” Baglione said. “Naturally, you don’t have to be present to win.”
In between chowing down and jamming out to the tunes, festival attendees can take part in a variety of activities. In addition to the basket raffles, games of chance and large item raffles, Baglione said their planning both a bocce tournament and a cornhole tournament.
“We thought cornhole might interest the half of the group that aren’t bocce players,” he said.
Baglione also said a number of kids’ games will also be offered as well as bounce houses, all free. “If the kids are happy and the parents are happy, then we’re happy,” he added.
After canceling the event during the pandemic years, Baglione said the committee is trying to bring the festival back to its heyday from decades past. But scheduling around other events in the region and recent news from the Diocese of Buffalo about possible parish mergers or closures have been a challenge.
“We’ve been planning this thing from seven months, since the beginning of January,” he said. “We met immediately after the announcement to take a poll of all the chair people to see if we still want to do it.”
At that time, the roughly 20 committee chairs were split on whether or not to go through with the festival. Baglione said each chair then went to their groups of volunteers to ask for additional thoughts and comments about still holding the festival, and a week later every one of them said they were in.
“We’re trying to get back with the great music, the Italian food, the whole schmear,” he added. “We’re here, we’re alive and well, come join, have a drink, have something to eat, laugh, share memories and have a good time.”
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