What's Up in Ave Maria: March 25th celebrations light up the town

Whereas the first religious celebration of the Feast of the Annunciation in Ave Maria took place on March 25th in 2004 amidst tomato fields, the celebration this year took place on the same date, but in a growing town and in what may be, depending on how you calculate it, the biggest parish church structure in the Archdiocese of Venice.

The Feast of the Annunciation is always special in Ave Maria, whether you’re Catholic or not, because it’s a time not only of religious observance but of secular fun. It marks the day when the Angel Gabriel announced to a young woman that God was inviting her to become the mother of Jesus. The angelic salutation,“Hail Mary,” that is, “Ave Maria,” was taken for the name of Ave Maria University (AMU), and subsequently for the town. Most years it’s celebrated on March 25th, except when the date collides with Holy Week or Easter.

During that first celebration amidst the nightshades, Fr. Joseph Fessio, who in earlier days held various posts at the university, marched past rows of tomato plants to the site of what he called “the historic oratory,” which would be “the center of our new campus.” This year, a similar procession wended its way through streets lined by shops, businesses and homes and past a towering church.

That church was situated at Fessio’s suggestion so that on March 25th, the azimuth, or point at which the sun breaks the horizon, lines up directly behind it, and in the pre-dawn hours, about a dozen photo-seekers were perched across the water that runs behind AMU, hopeful of capturing the sun ascending above the structure’s cross. Blessedly, the frequent dawn mists were considerate this year and stayed away.

The ownership of the church shifted on Jan. 19, 2017, when AMU sold its iconic structure to the Archdiocese of Venice, resulting in what was once a quasi parish becoming a parish and celebrating March 25th this year in honor of its patronal saint, Mary. Probably because the date fell on a Saturday, the day seemed packed with more events than ever.

First came a lunch on the AMU mall, sponsored by the parish, with the Knights of Columbus serving up 1,000 hamburgers and 1,000 hot dogs. As the last bits of bun and beef were being swallowed, a separate event, the Landshark Luau, sponsored by Ave Maria Development, was getting underway in the town center. While a Jimmy Buffett and Beach Boys tribute band rocked out popular tunes, kids took advantage of a Tahiti-themed slide and other amusements, adults enjoyed Landshark Lager and specialty beverages, and a muscle car show rounded out the fun.

In the evening, the action shifted back to the AMU mall, where a dinner was held at the university.  Amid the sizzle of steaks and the socializing of students and residents, surely some thoughts turned towards the Ritz Carlton in Naples where the founder of AMU and Ave Maria School of Law, Tom Monaghan, was being feted on his 80th birthday. However, once the outdoor concert by Scythian was underway, probably all that anyone was thinking about was rocking on to the music belted out by the popular Celtic-inspired band.

Last up, a fireworks display, Ave Maria’s first ever. In that fraught pause between lit fuse and pyrotechnical explosion, one might pause to recall a few posts on social media by newer residents asking, “What does ‘Ave Maria’ mean, anyway?”

As the sky lights up, one can be forgiven for deciding that the Annunciation, in ways both religious and secular, will forever have a hold on the imagination of the town that takes its name from it.

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More information and other news about Ave Maria can be found in The Ave Herald (www.aveherald.com) which Patricia publishes along with her husband, David Shnaider.