A severe late afternoon thunderstorm put an early damper on the third annual Holy Angels Italian Food Festival as arriving parishioners and friends waited patiently to be served in the church hall.

Lightning knocked out power to portions of Barrington at around 4:15 p.m. Saturday, including Holy Angels Church, which was preparing to serve hungry Italian Food Festival customers. 

Some of the heavy rain spilled into the hall entrance where committee members mopped up the area to make sure people wouldn’t slip and hurt themselves.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Festival Committee member Steve Di Orio, who did his best to keep the floor dry. “Even as a kid, I don’t remember losing power during the old Feast of the Assumption Celebration.” 

Committee spokesman and public relations person Shawn DeHart was happy that the early problems caused by the weather, were quickly cleared up.

“About an hour before the festivities started, as the strong rainstorms were coming through town, we had to contend with two problems,” he said. “First, there was a flood in the church basement, where the event was being held, and then, like so many other people in town, we had the loss of electricity. We put a lot of time into preparing for the event, and when those things happened, I panicked. I didn't know how we'd go on. Fortunately, the water on the floor got mopped up quickly, and the power came back on within an hour. We started off rough, but all's well that ends well.”

When power was restored at approximately 6 p.m., a loud cheer broke out from folks who were already seated at tables in semi-darkness. Emergency lights in the hall had provided some relief during the power outage. People were very orderly throughout the ordeal.

Once things were restored, it was business as usual. Food lines were long as the night went on. The kitchen staff worked through all of this in orderly fashion and got the food out without any further delay. 

The food, as expected, was superb. As usual, Italian, as well as American food favorites, spiced up the menu. Included were sliced pizza, baked pasta, meatballs, pasta e fagioli (pasta & beans), sausage and peppers, eggplant parmigiana, spinach calzones, creamy pesto tortellini, fried mozzarella sticks, and other tasty offerings.

Even the baked goods table, under the leadership of Holy Angels Women’s Guild past president Barbara Bunker, vice president Carol Plante, and secretary Irene DeAngelis, was a busy area featuring a variety of tasty sweets throughout the evening.

“Those ladies did such a great job,” said Summer Events Committee veteran Barbara St. Angelo. “Those home baked items were a sellout.”

Holy Angels Church, for as long as anyone can remember, has always been known for its festive celebration and reverence during its Feast of the Assumption. The Italian Food Festival is an offshoot of the famed Summer Festival which was held previously. The carnival-type atmosphere may have changed, but the food product has remained first class.

Special drawings were held later in the evening, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly. Not even those earlier unexpected weather conditions could ruin this night.

Ms. St. Angelo, whose kitchen staff was busy all evening long, summed it up pretty well.

“We’re all exhausted,” she said. “Everyone in the kitchen did such a wonderful job, starting from the time the lights went out right on through the rest of the night. The event was such a great success.”