By Peyton Voorheis
Staff Writer
Free food and Marian trivia were the highlights of March 25’s Annunciation Fest, the second part of a back-to-back weekend of feast day festivals in the J.C. Williams Center.
Student Government and Brotherhood of St. Francis men’s household collaborated to sponsor the Annunciation Fest.
The festivities began at 6:30 p.m. with Marian Jeopardy in the Gentile Gallery. The trivia was sponsored by the Brotherhood of St. Francis and hosted by the Rev. Daniel Maria Klimek, T.O.R.
Three contestants participated, and the winner was junior Joshua Navos, a philosophy and theology major who is currently taking Mariology with Klimek. Navos was awarded with an icon depicting the Annunciation, which was then blessed by Klimek.
Free burgers and fixings were provided for festival attendees by Parkhurst dining, as well as chips, cookies and sodas.
Although the event’s hosts had originally planned to have alcohol for students over 21, no alcohol could be provided due to a miscommunication about the necessary permits.
Due to a lack of the necessary sound equipment and willing performers, plans for live music also had to be discarded.
Brotherhood of St. Francis coordinator Nick Winter, a junior, said of the trivia portion of the evening, “It was cool to see so many people come out and show their love for Mary and the age-old classic Jeopardy; it was cool to see a Marian twist on it.”
Nathan Dunn, a sophomore and a member of the Brotherhood, said of the trivia, “We spent the last two nights preparing for tonight; the four of us really all pulled together and we stayed up late last night coming up with questions, doing research, and fact checking.”
Dunn added that he was grateful for all the work put into the event and for the help of Student Government.
“It was really fun,” said Navos, the winner of the trivia game, “and I’m really excited to have this icon.”
“We wanted to do a big thing for the Annunciation, because it’s the one solemnity we get during Lent,” said senior and Student Government President Jared Johnson of the fest.
Johnson said he was disappointed by the technical difficulties involved in the fest, but grateful that he had newfound knowledge to pass on to future members of Student Government, adding, “It’s definitely been a learning experience.”