St. Matthew’s Church returning to Fall Festival after 1-year hiatus

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - The West Side Nut Club Fall Festival, a Tri-State tradition, returns to Evansville in full swing on Oct. 2.

A few groups opted out of participating in the 2021 Fall Festival due to COVID-19 concerns. St. Matthew’s Church is one of the groups that did not participate in the festival last year.

Church members say their congregation is relatively small and older. Choir director Cheryl Stroud says selling candy in-house was much more feasible for the members looking to participate in making fall festival candy.

“Well, I think our members were a little worried about being out in crowds,” said Stroud. “So for us, it was a lot easier to do it here.”

Church members took orders over the phone and through email for their marshmallow-like candy called divinity and old-fashioned fudge, despite not participating in the festival.

Jill Bruce, a member and leader at St. Matthew’s Church, says their efforts go far beyond their congregation. She says their efforts are intended to serve the greater good.

“It’s been a long, very long mission for this church to help the community,” said Bruce. “We take a lot of our funds and we make a budget and we give to 12 or 13, something like that different benevolences that we give money throughout the city.”

Bruce says church members that make the candy for the Fall Festival complete orders with the help of the University of Evansville Fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha.

She says in order to meet the sweet needs of the community, they must have all hands on deck.

“We’re going to keep fighting and keep giving our community the fudge they want,” said Bruce. ”And give back to the community the money they need.”

Bruce says they are accepting anyone interested in volunteering their time to help make the sweet treats for the 2022 Fall Festival. She says those interested can come to the church during the scheduled candy-making times.

The Fudge Making Schedule is as follows:

• Monday, Sept. 26, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
• Tuesday, Sept. 27, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
• Friday, Sept. 30, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 1, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
• Sunday, Oct. 2, 1 p.m.-8 p.m.

The Divinity Candy making schedule is as follows:

• Saturday, Oct. 1, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Sunday, Oct. 2, 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Monday, Oct. 3, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 4, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Contact the St. Matthew’s Church at (812) 422-8023 for additional details.

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