A Special Feast Day
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Published on Monday, 27 March 2017 01:00
As the town of Ave Maria continues to grow, so does its observance of its special feast day, the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25.
Since the feast day fell on a Saturday this year, there were a particularly large number of events, beginning the evening before and culminating Saturday night with the town's first ever fireworks display.
On the eve of the feast day, town residents and Ave Maria University students participated in a procession that began at the church in the town center, wound through several neighborhoods and ended at a shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe. (right)
At sunrise Saturday, dozens gathered to watch the sun rise, particularly significant in Ave Maria because its iconic church was designed so that it would be oriented toward the point at which the sun breaks the horizon on March 25. (left- photo by Monica Dix)
The town parish and the Knights of Columbus provided lunch, serving up more than a 1,000 hamburgers and 1,000 hot dogs.
Throughout the afternoon, the town rocked to the music of The Landsharks performing Jimmy Buffet and Beach Boys tunes.
In the evening, Ave Maria University put on a steak dinner on the university mall (below right, photo by Monica Dix), followed by a performance by the popular folk rock group Scythian and culminating in a fireworks display put on by AMU, the first such display in the town's history.
For more on the celebrations in Ave Maria, click here for Ave Herald Editor Patricia's column in the Naples Daily News: March 25th Celebrations Light Up the Town.
March 25 also was the 80th birthday of Tom Monaghan, the founder of Ave Maria University, co-founder of the town and founder of the Ave Maria School of Law. He attended daytime events at Ave Maria and in the evening, the law school held a party for him Saturday evening at the Ritz Carleton Golf Resort. (left - photo by Naples Daily News)