Recap of the Egyptian Festival at the new St. Mary & St. Mercurius

Recap of the Egyptian Festival

9/9/2019

by Brian Coll

This past weekend there was a lot to do in Conshohocken, if you happened to be near the old Saint Cosmas and Damien you may have stumbled upon the new St. Mary & St. Mercurius Coptic Church event. This was their 10th annual Egyptian Festival and while not all 10 have been here in Conshohocken it was a nice event.

I am going to take a strange turn in this article.

I went with my family Saturday afternoon and my kids had a great time, my wife loved the food, my kids loved the bounce houses and all in all it was a nice afternoon/evening out. My mind was racing however….. I looked one way and there was a gentleman cutting sugar canes in order to make drinks, yes real sugar cane drinks. In my mind, I was flashing back to the old Saint Cosmas and Damien fest.

While my kids saw moon bounces and obstacle courses I saw the old rides, my wife saw gentlemen cooking chicken and lamb and I saw old Italian ladies making fried dough. There was a DJ in one corner and I was thinking I could go over and place a $1. on a number and hope the spinning wheel came up with my number.

So, here’s the thing, it was a very nice event, the people were so friendly, the food was amazing. I had a friend go Saturday and Sunday just for the food. My kids loved getting the $10 bracelet and going from bounce house to bounce house. The sooner I could forget about what it was when I was growing up, when I was a young man, when I went for the final time to get a pork sandwich and fried dough, the sooner I could have fun, the better the food tasted once the ghosts of an old event was out of my mind.

This part is for some of the older people that may read Conshystuff…. when you see events like this pop up, go check them out. I was so impressed with what this church has done with the basement. I felt very welcomed in and around the church. Listen…. I know it sucks, it really does. It is horrible the archdiocese sold this church, they put the people of Saint Mary’s through hell in order to keep that church building and that will be an eternal fight to keep that church. However, it’s not the fault of the people at the current church there. If I’m not mistaken, this is the third Egyptian Festival held here and I hope to be able to attend future ones just to see what this group of people have been able to do with the old Saint Cosmas and Damien.

To the younger people, with or without kids in Conshy, these events are great. Please go and check them out. It could be at this church, or another one…. go check it out. If you have kids, it seems like there is always something going on in or around Conshohocken to do with your kids. Go check them out.

If you miss the old Saint Cosmas Feast… I understand the Lanutti Post is going to have a food version of it…… we’ll have the date for that soon, and I look forward to getting another pork sandwich and maybe some fried dough… I won’t be able to go on the old school carnival rides, but now I’m old enough to try one of the wines….. maybe I’ll see you there.

Here are some photos from this weekends festivities.