Festival Field, which is located off Lafayette Street in Johnston and plays home to the Our Lady of Grace Church’s famous La Madonna DiFesa Feast and Festival, had never before taken on a look like it had Thursday night.
None of the permanent food booths, which every September serve everything from great Italian dishes to doughboys, were open, but field lights shined brightly on several canopy-covered displays that showcased upwards of two-dozen donated gift baskets.
Moreover, there were many smiling faces as people enjoyed mouth-watering appetizers and other specialty foods donated by The Bridge at Cherry Hill and prepared under the watchful eye of Executive Chef Marvin Carter.
Other people, meanwhile, paired up in teams of two to test their mettle in the third annual Northwest Links Corn Hole Tournament that featured a dozen shiny boards – most of which had sponsors names such as Gentry Moving and Storage – and even one that featured the New England Patriots logo.
In the middle of it all were Jen Burns, the sales and community relations director at The Bridge at Cherry Hill, and Christine Crum, who owns and operates Gentry Moving and Storage in Cranston.
“Maxine Hutchens would be proud of what’s going on here tonight,” Burns exclaimed with enthusiasm ringing in her voice. “When this is over, we will have raised $2,100 for Seniors Rule/Elves for Elders program she founded 20 years ago.”
Because of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, NW Links almost had to forego the event, which is usually hosted at various nursing homes, assisted living and retirement centers located within the northwest part of the state.
“Christine and I were chatting at one of our social distancing networking events,” Burns explained, “and we talked about how NW Links had only been able to have one fundraiser this year and we wanted to try and put together one more if at all possible.”
So, the two women sent out a mass email to NW Links members and their colleagues in the eldercare community and within three days, Burns emphasized, “The fundraiser came together due the amazing support we received and in approximately three weeks the tournament came to fruition.”
More importantly, as Burns and Crum said, “The $2,100 proceeds will help Elves for Elders provide Christmas gifts for seniors in LTC facilities who otherwise wouldn’t receive anything during the holidays.”
Burns and Crum also issued a “thank you” to the Rev. Peter J. Gower, the pastor at OLG, for use of Festival Field and the Roman Catholic parish. They also wanted it known the church had registered six teams and one of the parishioners agreed to serve as a monetary sponsor.
“This is an impressive event,” Gower related while watching people who made up the 16 teams and ladies like Tracy Cale of Anchor Bay at Greenwich that served as a co-sponsor and the nine monetary sponsors as well as agencies whose combined efforts resulted in the donation of gift baskets for the event’s raffle.
Team Salinger – which was made up of Justin and Josh Salinger, sons of Keri Salinger – of ABLTC took home first place for the third time in as many years. John Stefanik and Lori Coia from Concord Home Care were runners-up and the Burns-Carter tandem placed third.
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