St. Colman of Cloyne Catholic Church will commence with the first Knights of Columbus Lenten Fish Fry today, and organizers are inviting the community to help them with their biggest fundraiser of the year.
With Ash Wednesday falling this week, it marked the beginning of the Lent season — a season of 40 days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Every Friday during the Lent season, the Knights will hold fish fry dinners to raise money for those who are in need at St. Colman, according to Paul Ondrus, a member of the Knights.
Using this money, they have supported many local organizations over the years, including the Life Pregnancy Center, St. Vincent de Paul Society, The Well at Sunnyside, and even non-local fundraising initiatives to help children and many others.
“We have been doing this for 15 years,” Ondrus said. “It has been getting bigger and bigger. The building we have holds roughly 190 and we have about that many seats. We run from this Friday through the next six Fridays.”
The dinners will begin at 4:30 p.m. and will last until 7 p.m. The dinner is “all-you-can-eat” and will feature Alaskan Pollock deep fried in a local soy oil from the Sollars family (as well as baked for those who do not want deep fried fish). In addition they will serve corn, green beans, french fries, grilled cheese, tomato soup, fried shrimp, fish tails, homemade desserts and more.
“We are located right across from the Carnegie Public Library,” Ondrus said. “The event is open to everyone or you can carry out. Each dinner is $10 for an adult or you can get individual items for cheaper. Those 65 and older get in for $8 for the meal. It really is a good deal because it is all-you-can-eat, so we have people who come and stay for quite awhile.”
Ondrus encouraged the community to come early as they only serve so much fish, and he said they end up serving around 200-240 pounds of fish each night. For more information about the dinners, call 740-335-5000, email [email protected] or visit them at 219 S. North St. in Washington C.H.
