Annual St. Anthony’s Feast draws 12,000

One of Oceanside’s biggest events of the year — the St. Anthony’s Feast — now in its 49th year, drew a crowd of more than 12,000 people, delighting youngsters and their parents for four days of family fun and food, according to feast organizer John Fellin.

The annual feast, which ran from June 7 to 10, helps fund various ministries at St. Anthony’s Church such as parish outreach as well as senior and youth programs, Fellin said. Despite a rainy Sunday, he reported that the feast raised almost as much as last year’s, and he thanked the event’s local corporate sponsors — Tower’s Funeral Home, Ocean Financial and Home Appliance — for making it possible.

The volunteer-run fair involves months of planning, but next year promises to be the biggest feast yet as the local tradition hits its 50-year milestone. Fellin declined to reveal yet what he has in store, but said “we have some big ideas.”