2010 Prices:   Will be set after we analyze our 2009 season.

2010 Hours:   4:30-7:30pm.

100% of the proceeds from this event goes to Seton's Summer Mission Program, sending about 140 people in Summer '09 to New Orleans and Arizona!

2010 Dates and Hours:  For the 2010 Fish Fry Season, we will again host seven fish fry buffets:  February 12 (the week before Lent starts), 19 & 26, March 5,12,19 & 26. The hours are 4:30-7:30pm in the church hall.

Weekly Dinner Guest Numbers!

Updated 4/4/2009

Date	2007 Dinners Sold	2008 Dinners Sold	2009 Dinners Sold	2009 Comments
Week #1 - Pre-Lent	476	464	299	More volunteers than we've ever had on an opening night!  Thanks!
Week #2	877	658	766	It's great to have a full house again!  Lots of first time guests who've promised to return with lots of friends!
Week #3	771	703	832	Great weather brought out great crowds.  A steady stream of people all night made it easy for the cooks and staff.  The best attended Week #3 we've ever had!
Week #4	1,003!	853	806	Running smooth.  Halfway through the season. Next week we will mark our 25,000 dinner guest since we started in 2004.
Week #5	942	868	723	We served our 25,000th guest this Friday!  That calls for celebrating!  All this in six years!
Week #6	1,024!	1,429!!	696	We have so many guests who come every week!  Already sad that last week will be our last week.
Week #7	869	842	853	Big rush from 5:30 on.  The parking lot was full and we ran out of food about 7:00pm.
Total	5,962	5,817	4,975	Even with the troubled economy, we are so thankful for our guests, our volunteers and the friendships celebrated!

Volunteers Make it Happen!

It takes over 140 people to run each week's event!  Volunteers are needed in 25 different areas.  We ALWAYS need more help, so can we count on YOU?

Click here to download the 2009 Volunteer Form.

Help Spread the Word!

Download a color Fish Fry Poster to help get the word out!

Click here to download 2009 Fish Fry Poster.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF OUR RECORD NIGHT!

After two requests, the Guinness World Records organization didn't want to open up a "Fish Fry" category, so we couldn't set an official record through them.  Yet, we applied all their standards in validating our record.  An internet search showed that the previous world record for a fish fry was at 801 set on June 8, 2007 at the Polish Heritage Festival in Buffalo, New York, during a four hour stretch.   

CLICK HERE FOR NORTHWEST HERALD ARTICLE ON THE BIG NIGHT!

World Record Update.  The Polish Heritage Festival retook their world record title on May 30, 2008 with a new total of 2,552 in five hours.  They donated 250 of those meals to the Response of Love Center in Buffalo.  Not all the meals counted were for guests who ate at the festival. 

Our Fish Fry History.

We had our first fish fry in 2004, serving 280 people.  Wes Slawson, director of the fish fry (as well as the church's youth minister) was driving home with his son, Brian.  Brian asked, "Dad, what do you think is the most we could ever serve at the fish fry?"  Wes thought a moment and said, "Son, there's no way we could ever serve more than 500 people."  It took almost two years of hosting the six Lenten Fish Fry Buffets, but by mid-season of 2005, our numbers rose through the 700 mark.  We evaluated every work area every night and asked our guests for suggestions on improvement as well.  Each season, about four new items were added.  In our 2007 season, we added shrimp and homemade soups.  Twice that year, we served over 1,000 guests!

 Our record-breaking 2008 season had a number of improvements.  We added a seafood pasta, Jell-O Jigglers and fresh, hot beignets (a New Orleans delicacy!) for dessert! 

Each fish fry requires the help of 150-270 volunteers, separated into over 25 different work crews.  We fry our items outside in three special shelters that contain a total of 20-25 deep fryers.

One of our favorite sayings is "It takes an army to feed an army!"  For the World Record night on March 7, 2008, we had over 270 volunteers!  We made a number of significant preparations for the big night:  adding a fourth and fifth buffet lines and even had parking shuttle service.

Using standards of verification that the Guinness World Records organization requires, we had two Crystal Lake City Councilwomen as our official judges.  Councilwoman Ellen Brady Mueller and Councilwoman Cathy A. Ferguson officially counted people as they entered plus we had video verification as well.

100% of our proceeds go towards our Summer Mission Program, sending about 140 teens and adults to New Orleans and Arizona.

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