Due to Charity Gaming Laws and Regulations, we can not sell Raffle Tickets via our website or with credit cards.

Liability and lack of certified volunteers.

We do (well, most of it)! It’s quite a chore to prepare thousands of pounds of Cod and hundreds of pounds of pork barbecue and Coney sauce – but we’ve been pulling it off for over 80 years. Our process is quite impressive, and is accomplished in compliance with the Indiana Department of Health. The barbecue and Coney sauce is made just prior to festival, in two days! We start by slow-cooking the pork loins, then we hand-pull all 200 pounds of it. Other volunteers are mixing giant vats of our secret homemade barbecue sauce and Coney sauce on the stoves. The pork and sauce is combined and hand-mixed, with a couple secret ingredients, and then it is all deep-frozen until it’s time to serve. We kick up our baked beans with some more secret ingredients; we hand-stuff every last deviled egg; our macaroni and cheese is baked each morning; and our fruit pies and cakes are baked in-house! Don’t tell anyone, but our delicious cream pies come from Gray Bros Cafeteria in Mooresville, Indiana. Can’t beat ’em!

Parking is a challenge around our campus. Most street parking fills up early in the day, and there is no parking available on our campus during the event. However, we have a complimentary shuttle that runs continuously between Speedway High School and the festival, beginning 30 minutes prior to the event and ending 30 minutes after closing. The parking lot at the High School is large and this service allows everyone easy access to the festivities. Please visit the Contact page for information on finding the festival and the High School parking lot.

We’ve been frying our famous fish for 80 years. Icelandic Cod, battered in milk and eggs, and breaded in our special blend of spices, then deep fried in vegetable oil to a golden brown. If you haven’t tried it yet, come out this year and have a sandwich, or fish-n-chips basket.

According to the Indiana Gaming Commission’s Charity Gaming laws, no person under the age of eighteen may play any game of chance at a Charity Gaming Event. A game of chance may be a wheel game, Bingo, a raffle or any casino-style game where the player bets money and has no way of controlling the outcome of the game. However, persons under the age of eighteen are encouraged to play the “games of skill” (where the player’s abilities determine the outcome of the game) in our Carnival area on the main parking lot. We have made our best efforts to provide ample gaming options for young and old alike.

Our event has no “gate admission.” Each area of the festival is independent and you pay only for what you want. The rides require tickets, which may be purchased at a discount until 4:00pm on Thursday of festival week. Carnival games require cash. Food is paid for by cash or credit card, at the point of sale. Casino-style gaming is played by purchasing chips, and any winnings are paid out in cash by the Casino Cashier. Bingo games are paid for in cash only, per game.

The odds vary on the Raffle, since they depend on the number of tickets sold. Each ticket is worth one chance, and as such, the odds are 1:xxx, where “xxx” is the number of entries sold. The more tickets you buy the more chances you have to win. Our raffle is governed strictly by the Indiana Gaming Commission.

Proceeds brought in by the festival and our Friday night Bingo are incorporated into the parish operating budget and are occasionally used to improve our aging facilities.

We do not recommend that parents let their kids attend this event, or any public event, alone or without adult supervision. We check ID for everyone purchasing alcohol, we regulate the gaming to those over eighteen years of age, and we have uniformed police officers on property at all times – but we cannot prevent all mischief. Overall, our festival has a great record of safety and security, but with the changing times we do not encourage children to be left alone. St. Christopher Catholic Church cannot be held liable for the safety of unattended minors.

Yes and no. Our campus is over 80 years old. Through the years, the parish has added accessibility to many areas of our campus. Our carry-out line is accessible, with small humps at door thresholds. The Casino has a wheelchair access ramp on the west side. And BINGO is played in a tent in the west parking lot. Our outdoor offerings are located partially on pavement and partially on grass.

Yes. Our gambling (which is referred to as “Charity Gaming”) is regulated and monitored by the Indiana Gaming Commission. Our gaming is also monitored and regulated by our Festival Committee, which is educated on the Charity Gaming laws and regulations of Indiana. Our Festival License Number is located at the bottom of this website. We do everything to ensure that no person under the age of eighteen plays any games of chance or purchases Pull-Tab Tickets. We also do not allow any person under the age of eighteen into the Casino Room or BINGO Tent under any circumstances. We have a volunteer security patrol in and around our campus to ensure security and fair play. Should you have any further questions about our gaming, please contact us via the Contact Us page.

Unfortunately, we do not provide booth space for outside vendors, exhibitors or groups to market their material or sell their products or services.

You may contact all of us directly via the Contact Us page. We appreciate your comments, praise and constructive criticism!

Yes, we offer beer and wine sales at the festival. The Beer Garden is located in the north lawn, along 16th Street. Please see details elsewhere on this site. Outside alcohol is NOT permitted.

We do! Beginning in 2018, we accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover, as well as Apple Pay and Android Pay. Credit cards are accepted at most food locations, except St. Anthony’s Mexican Cuisine booth and the snack trailer on the front lawn. Beer and wine may be purchased with credit card. Raffles, BINGO and the Casino are cash-only operations, by law.

Unfortunately, no. We have used the same recipes for our fish breading, our Coney sauce, our pork barbecue, our macaroni and cheese, our beans, our deviled eggs and many other dishes since the festival’s inception over 80 years ago. These recipes are tightly guarded secrets and are locked away until festival cooking time comes around each year. There are only a handful of people who have even seen the recipes. With this being said, we wish to keep our secrets…well, secret, and as such we do not share or publish our recipes.