To the editor:

The 42nd annual St. Barnabas Festival will begin on Friday, June 23, at 5 p.m. and end Sunday, June 25, around 6 p.m. this year.

This year, we have added a full lineup of events on Saturday afternoon. Along with bingo, there will be a Jeep Show, an art show, Meet the Reptiles and more. The food is always great and the auction on Sunday is the big hit. There is bingo on Saturday night along with food, music, dancing and the carnival rides.

Many who read this letter and have attended in the past know the fun and know they truly have participated in a great community event.

It is a community event for several reasons: Past high school graduates returning from college share stories, kids get to play carnival games with their friends, local politicians get to mingle with the crowd, the crowd gets to bend the ear of the local politicians, former residents returning north get to catch up with former neighbors, business people get to network and tell others about their offerings and more.

For more details, please go to the St. Barnabas Church website at http://stbarnabasportsmouth.weconnect.com.

We are looking for more people to help a few hours at a time. Click on the hyperlink on the church website main page to go to Sign up Genius to sign up. Here is the link: www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0945a8a628a6f58-volunteer.

On behalf of Father Peter Andrews, the staff of St. Barnabas and the festival committee, we thank you for all of your support in the past and look forward to seeing you at the festival in just a few weeks.

Sincerely,

Gael and Ray Berberick

2017 festival co-chairs

25 Robin Road

Portsmouth