International Food Festival at St Francis Xavier PS a smorgasbord of food, prizes, entertainment & fun

A melting pot of multiculturalism was celebrated as people were treated to a delicious feast of foods, fabulous entertainment, big prizes and a day of family fun at the International Food Festival.

The festival on Sunday October 15 was hosted at St Francis Xavier Primary School and is part of the Diocese of Geraldton’s annual community festival.

“The main aim was to bring people together for a day of entertainment, fun and sharing in food, and culture with the crowds coming to join in and celebrating the diversity of our wonderful local community,” Fr Bernard Balaraj said.

Stalls of every cuisine imaginable were set up in the school’s undercover area, including Vietnamese, Filipino, Kenyan, Indian, Spanish, Indonesian, Croatian, Thai, Pakistani and Australian, with all food selling out on the day.

On the school oval, reptile displays, pony rides and a petting zoo were on offer, as well as fairy floss, popcorn, donuts and fresh fruit juices.

The Nagle Catholic College choir performed before student solos delighted the audience, with music and songs from Ben Micke and Erin Kelly.

More than 30 performances took to the stage, including dancing from Thai, Indian, Filipino and Indonesian groups.

A highlight for many on the day was the mega raffle draw with $10,000 for first prize, a $3000 Mitchell and Brown Retravision voucher for second and a $2000 Rigters IGA voucher for third.

Maricar and Alan Seno won first prize, with Juliet Dunn winning second and Rhonda Lord third.

Part proceeds of the fundraising event will be put towards assisting programs aimed at youth. Recently, a group of 16 young people from Geraldton travelled to Lisbon in Portugal for a World Youth Day pilgrimage and each received a $1328 cheque to assist them with travel costs.

Fr Bernard said the fabulous celebration was made possible by local businesses, individual sponsors, school families, hardworking volunteers and committee members as well as the community at large for their support.