Volunteers are preparing for this year's St. Mary Parish Festival and Chicken Dinner on Sunday, July 8.

All-you-can-eat dinners with all the trimmings will be served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the St. Mary School cafeteria and gymnasium.

Tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for children 6-11. Children 5 years and younger will eat free, and take-out dinners are also available.

Proceeds from the dinner will help defray the annual operational costs for St. Mary School, which offers a faith-based educational program for students in preschool through 12th grade.

A highlight of the festival is the Country Store, which features locally handcrafted items, Christmas gifts, rag rugs, homemade baked goods and fresh garden vegetables. Festivities include games for children and adults, including bingo. Free crafts for younger children will also be available in the first grade classroom.

The St. Mary Quilters will have their work on display and for sale, and are available to teach quilting and take custom orders. One of their handmade works of art will be the grand prize in the 2007 raffle, which also features 49 additional prizes. First-place prize is $1,000 in cash, second is another handmade quilt and third is a hand-carved walking stick made by parishioner Jim Rich.

Festival dinner coordinators this year are Kathy Priest, Alan and Karen Schaub, and MaryLou Schaub.

In last year’s event, more than 1,800 dinners were served.