Carnival cruisin’

Tariq Malik

COSTA MESA - After spending the morning in prayer Sunday, the

congregation of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church spent the rest of

the day in celebration.

In a playing field behind its 1015 W. Baker St. location, the church

attracted thousands to its second annual three-day carnival over the

sunny weekend before capping it off Sunday evening.

“This worked out great and we never could have done it without our

volunteers,” said resident Dan Peterka, a firefighter who chairs the

carnival board of directors. “[Compared to last year], we had more people

attend, more people participate, and as a result, we’ve grown.”

Last year, the church threw its first three-day carnival, attracting

about 5,000 people and raising more than $10,000 for church projects.

This year, Peterka expects at least that many people to enter through

the festival’s gate. The revenue will retrofit school classrooms and

restrooms -- now more than 40 years old -- to meet modern-day earthquake

and other codes, Peterka said. His five children attend the church’s

school, which serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

This year’s proceeds will also help prepare for a major project to

build a new church near the intersection of Babb Street and Baker --

where the rectory is today -- and convert the existing church into a

parish hall.

“Fund-raising is obviously one piece of this event, but it’s a

secondary goal to getting the community to see each other,” said Father

Jerome M. Henson, pastor of St. John the Baptist Church, who also

described the event as a family outing. “There are some 2,000 registered

families who belong to this parish and while you’re inside praying, you

don’t always get a chance to meet the person across the aisle.”

Henson said volunteers went to neighboring houses offering free food

tickets for the event, inviting them to attend and apologizing ahead of

time for any noise and music problems.

“We wanted them to attend even if they weren’t part of the church

because we’re a community.” he added.

Some of those neighbors, Annie Pattison and her family, live just

around the corner and walked to the carnival all three days.

“This is a good way to spend money,” Pattison said, adding that she

has already seen plans for the new church, which she described as

beautiful. “I never really thought of how important it was to get out and

meet the people around me until this started.”

Parishioner Vincent Nguyen watched over his niece and two

second-cousins as they enjoyed the sun and fun of the carnival.

‘I think it’s great the way this is focused on the community first and

raising money second,” he said.

Nguyen’s niece Natalie Nguyen, 11, is a sixth-grader at the parochial

school. She said the carnival’s rides and games were the big draw for

her.

“They’re a lot of fun and we’ve come out all three days,” she said. “I

think I’ve seen almost all my class here.”