My Fair Church

From a hand-fed cockatiel to a two-night stay on Maui, participants in the live auction at the Damien Catholic Parish Country Fair didn’t leave empty-handed. The event, an annual fundraiser for the new Catholic church under construction, has been going on longer than parishioners can seem to remember.

The goal is to raise $20,000 to $24,000 during the event, said Father Clyde Guerrero. The parish has raised about $2.2 million since they began fundraising for the new church in 1995, he said. With the help of a $1.45 million loan, the structure in central Kuanakakai is nearly complete. A dedication service is being planned for Dec. 9 of this year, Guerrero added.

“It’s been a terrific year to reach that goal [of the new church], even though we have many years left to pay it off,” said parishioner and Country Fair silent and live auction chair Maria Sullivan. Hundreds came out for the fair, held last Saturday at the Mitchell Pauole Center.

“We’re very thankful to our on-island donors and community who came out to support the church,” she said.

The event featured Guerrero’s award-winning chili, a lucky number drawing grand prize of a trip for two to Las Vegas, plant and bake sales and many donated items for auction.