Our Lady of Joy Parish in Plum is trying something new with its annual festival tomorrow and Saturday: hosting an oldies band.
The New Holidays, a Pittsburgh-based band with four frontline singers and five band members, will perform Friday night.
Joe Dello Stritto, of Plum, a festival committee member, said the parish hoped that an oldies band would be a good attraction to draw more people to the festival.
"We're trying to increase the crowd," Dello Stritto said. "Rather than having our own parishioners show up, maybe we'll get a lot of people from outside the parish."
Oldies music, or music of the 1950s and '60s, appeals to all generations because many of the songs are familiar and have distinct harmonies, said Bill Reichert, 62, of Penn Township in Butler County, a frontline singer with the band.
"The music just allows you to dance naturally," Reichert said. "I think at least the minimum response we'll probably get is someone is going to stand there and tap their foot."
The festival features a variety of ethnic dishes prepared by church members, a bake sale, an $8,800 dollar raffle and a dunk tank, said Salvi Altomare, festival chair.
"I think if they come to the festival over the weekend and they hear the songs, I think they'll be hooked on the oldies," Reichert said. "We're trying to keep the sound of the '50s and '60s alive for the next generation to enjoy."
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