SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO Catholic Church expanded its annual Fiesta de Solano this year, offering more rides, games, food options, vendors and activities — all
intended to re-energize community engagement.
The goal was to make the entire Rancho Santa Margarita community feel welcome at the three-day festival, and not just promote the event within the parish, said Fr. Duy Le, parochial administrator of Solano.
“We wanted to make sure that this church is a beacon of light for all of Rancho Santa Margarita, all of Orange County,” Fr. Duy said. “We wanted to make sure that Rancho Santa Margarita knows that they are invited, that they belong here. It doesn’t belong to the people who sit in those pews. It belongs to them.”
The festival was staged in the Solano parking lot and in the adjacent Santa Margarita Catholic High School parking lot.
For many parishioners, the annual festival has become both a multigenerational family outing and an opportunity to serve.
FIESTA ATTENDEES ENJOY THE RIDES AT SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO CATHOLIC CHURCH IN RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA. PHOTO BY LOU PONSI
That was the case for longtime parishioner Dennis Shoji, who attended the festival with his wife, two adult sons and daughter, their spouses and all six grandchildren.
“Just about everybody volunteers,” said Shoji, a parishioner for about 30 years. “My wife and I volunteered at the hamburger stand. She also did the information booth. And the grandkids were helping at the basketball booth. So, it’s very nice to have them do this. We enjoy doing this together.”
Santa Margarita Catholic High School (SMCH) senior Jaylin Nigro, 17, has been attending the Fiesta de Solano for as long as she can remember. An endearing memory from her childhood was buying toy swords at the festival with her brother and spending the weekend “fighting each other” while hanging out with her friends from St. Serra Catholic School.
“We love Fiesta,” she said. “Especially being here with my family, it’s great. It’s bonded us together and helped us grow in our faith together. I’ve been walking around, seeing people that don’t even go to Solano but come to this event. It’s a great way to bring the whole community together, even if they aren’t Catholic.”
Nigro still loves the festival, but her relationship with the event has shifted from participant to volunteer, helping at her family’s booth selling cupcakes.
“I love giving back to my community,” she said. “I felt like they’ve done so much for me, and this is just a way where I can give back to them.”
Luc Chantarapan, 18, has been coming to the festival since 2012 and said he has watched the event evolve from a small parish gathering into a large community celebration that now attracts people from multiple churches and schools.
“I just think it’s cool how much it’s grown,” said Chantarapan, who just graduated from SMCH and plans to play junior hockey in Wyoming in the fall.
“Now I have so many people from other churches really far away … some of my friends that I haven’t seen even anywhere near the church.”
Fr. Duy said the festival provides an ideal setting for drawing more community members to the church and the Catholic faith, and encouraged Solano parishioners to serve as evangelists.
“Be Jesus’ hands and feet and His smile and His words for everyone,” he said. “We have a lot of things to celebrate, but the greatest thing that we celebrate is the gift
that God allows us to call others to Him. We wanted to make sure that this church is a beacon of light for all of Rancho Santa Margarita, all of Orange County.”