Splashing fun & community spirit at the first Mary’s Festival

Thank you to all who came out to St. Mary’s University’s inaugural Mary’s Festival last Saturday!

The day had wonderful live music, lots of games for the kids, food trucks, and our Catholic Connect and Marketplace stations allowed companies and organizations to share their products and services with guests and participants.

With well over 700 attendees, it seemed to me that Mary’s Festival was a smashing success in year one! One big goal we have at St. Mary’s University is to expose as many people as possible to the wonderful community and campus we have. We want our campus to be a gathering place, a destination campus for people to enjoy community.

As president of St. Mary’s University, it was a joy to see so many families and individuals check out our beautiful campus and enjoy the beginning of June. It was so great to hear laughing, singing, and buzzing game machines with families, priests, and even some VIPs across Calgary. 

So many people shared with me that they were having a wonderful time throughout the day, and we were blessed with wonderful weather. I think the highlight for many was the opportunity to try to dunk certain individuals in the dunk tank. From mermaids to CWL Chair Dr. Peter Baltutis, to St. Mary's University Board Chair Gary Strother… I even took a turn, and, yes, I got dunked three times. And, yes, it was cold!

​A significant diocesan crowd (Jesus teaching style) gathered when Fr. Troy Nguyen and Fr. Cristino Bouvette each took a turn in the tank! Thank you for being good sports, Fr. Troy and Fr. Cristino!

I asked a few participants to send in some reflections about Mary’s Festival. Here is what they shared with me:

It was so fun to see kids, students, parishioners and even staff 'try' to dunk me (although many were successful!). It was just beautiful to see the joy of families, youth and community gathered to celebrate the consecration of St Mary's University and if my unexpected plunging into the waters also brought a smile to their faces, praise God!” ~Fr. Troy

We were drawn to participate in the Catholic Connect Vendor Marketplace because it was an opportunity to reach Catholic families from the Calgary Area. As a new business, we wanted to connect with other businesses & the Catholic community. We were impressed by the event. It was very well organized and well attended. There were many families served by the event and we're looking forward to participating in the event in the future.” ~Aames & Angela Abanto, Owners of Living Loreto

Our family loved attending this year’s festival! The games for the kids was the highlight and it was also worth it to see our favourite priests get dunked in the dunk tank (sorry Fathers). It was affordable, had great booths and was an awesome opportunity to see many friends in the faith. It was very family-friendly and we will be back next year!” ~James Szojka, Husband and Dad of Three

The wonderful day would not have been possible without the Platinum Sponsorship from the Diocese of Calgary and other wonderful donors and friends of St. Mary’s University.

​Special thanks to GodSquad Canada which facilitated getting a new Disk Golf Course on campus and provided free barbeque throughout the day. Our hearts are full, and we look forward to another great Mary’s Festival next year!

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Photos courtesy of Victor Panlilio

Written by Dr. Sinda Vanderpool, President and Vice Chancellor, St. Mary’s University, for Faithfully