{"id":10228,"date":"2024-08-13T08:18:37","date_gmt":"2024-08-13T12:18:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stmaryofsorrows.org\/?page_id=10228"},"modified":"2025-09-02T16:56:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T20:56:42","slug":"smos-labor-day-picnic","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/stmaryofsorrows.org\/?page_id=10228","title":{"rendered":"SMoS Labor Day Picnic"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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SMOS 2024 Parish Labor Day Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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  1. History<\/strong>
    \u25ba Question: How long has Saint Mary of Sorrows (SMOS) been conducting picnics?
    \u25ba This will be the 148th annually-occurring parish family picnic. Prior to 1876,
    the parish had been conducting modest parish celebrations, often on the 4th of July. The
    1876 Centennial Exposition, an epic world&#39;s fair held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, ran from May
    10th to November 10th, 1876. This extraordinary world\u2019s fair was a sensation which
    attracted almost 10 million visitors. Based on all of the positive news about the success
    of the Centennial Exposition, the parish moved the timing of its picnics to the fall Labor
    Day, which pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers,
    became a federal holiday in 1894. Having the SMOS family picnic on Labor Day
    weekend symbolizes the approaching end of summer for many Americans and is a cause
    for celebration of God\u2019s many blessings to our Nation.
    All available records indicate that conducting these annual picnics is the longest
    continually running public event of its kind in Northern Virginia.<\/li>
  2. Schedule<\/strong>
    \u25ba Question: What will be the schedule of events on September 2nd, 2024?
    \u25ba Answer:
    10:00 am: Mass celebrated at the Church
    10:45 am: Blessing of the tools
    10:55 am: Picnic games, contests, and activities commence (see list at the end of this
    document for types of games and contests)
    \u00a0 \u00a0\u25a0 10:45 am: Egg-on-a-Spoon
    \u00a0 \u00a0\u25a0 11:15 am: Cooked foods, treats, country store items, plant sale items, and baked
    goods treats available for purchase
    \u00a0 \u00a0\u25a0 11:30 am: Tug-o-War
    \u00a0 \u00a0\u25a0 12:15 am: 3-Legged Races and Sack Races
    \u00a0 \u00a0\u25a0 1:00 pm: Water balloon Toss
    \u00a0 \u00a0\u25a0 1:30 pm: Adult Pie Eating Contest
    \u00a02:00 pm: Picnic ends<\/li>
  3. Site Map<\/strong>
    \u25ba Question: Where may picnic goers obtain up a printed site map?
    \u25ba Answer: We will have an Information Desk located on the walkway coming down from the church when mass concludes (approximately 10:45 am). The volunteers at the Information Booth will have site maps and other printed information sheets available to hand out. Around 11:15 am, the volunteers manning the Information Desk will shift operations further inside the parish parking lot. They will remain there for the duration of the picnic.<\/li>
  4. Cost<\/strong>
    \u25ba Question: What does the picnic cost?
    \u25ba Answer: All games, contests, and activities are free, as are parking, bottled water, and
    bingo games. See below for a list of the games, activities and contests by age group<\/li>
  5. \"\"Food<\/strong>
    \u25ba Question: What types of food and treats will be available for purchase?
    \u25ba Answer: Picnicgoers may purchase a variety of delicious cooked and other items,
    including:
    \u00a0\u00a0 Hot dogs, hamburgers, and sodas offered by the Ancient Order of Hibernians
    \u00a0\u00a0 (designated spot in the parish center parking lot)
    \u00a0\u00a0 BBQ chicken dinners offered by the Knights of Columbus (Farrell Hall)
    \u00a0 \u00a0Pizza by the slice offered by the Amigos En Christo and the Italian Heritage Society (St. Joseph\u2019s Hall)
    \u00a0 \u00a0Ice cream bars, ice cream cones, and popsicles (one location in the parking lot and one location in St. Joseph\u2019s Hall)
    \u00a0 \u00a0Sno-cones at one location in the parking lot.\u00a0 Brownies, cookies, pies, cakes, jams and jellies, and other goodies at Baked Goods tables in\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Farrell Hall<\/li>
  6. Parking<\/strong>
    \u25ba Question: Where will attendees park?
    \u25ba Answer: Individuals planning to attend the 10 am Mass should enter the parish grounds
    off Zion Road and park in the multiple rows of parking directly across from the church.
    Fifteen minutes after the mass commences, that entrance off of Zion Road will be closed
    to vehicular traffic. There are two other entrances to the parish grounds off of Sideburn
    Road. The entrance closes to Zion Road will be blocked. All other vehicles will access
    the picnic using the entrance closest to Robinson Secondary School. \/ After Mass.<\/li>
  7. Safety and Security<\/strong>
    \u25ba Question: What the arrangements for safety and security measures?
    \u25ba Answer: We will have safety and security personnel onsite, ranging from the Fairfax
    County Police Department, Emergency Medical Teams, and roving volunteers to assist
    with parking and any other issues.<\/li>
  8. First Aid<\/strong>
    \u25ba Question: What first aid support will be available?
    \u25ba Answer: We will have a First Aid section manned by physicians, nurses and health care professionals located in the upper parking lot adjacent to the parish center.<\/li>
  9. Inclement Weather<\/strong>
    \u25ba Question: What procedures will be implemented in the event of torrential rain?
    \u25ba Answer: TBD.<\/li>
  10. Lost Parents<\/strong>
    \u25ba Question: What should children do if their parents wander off?
    \u25ba Answer: Ask any picnic volunteer or other adult for help.<\/li>
  11. Old and New:<\/strong>
    \u25ba Question: What events will be carried over from last year and what features will be new
    this year?
    \u25ba Answer:
    Carried over: A variety of games, and activities for attendees of all ages; hot dogs
    and hamburgers; BBQ chicken dinners; Country Store; baked goods sales; plant
    sales; Family Bingo; adult pie eating contest; tours of the church; ministry tables
    New this year: Sales of pizza by the slice; ice cream bars, ice cream cones, and
    popsicles; Sno-cones<\/li>
  12. Lost and Found<\/strong>
    \u25ba Question: Given the popularity of cell phones and tablets, what should attendees do if
    they lose or find any personal items?
    \u25ba Answer: TBD<\/li>
  13. \"\"What to Bring<\/strong>
    \u25ba Question: What items should picnic-goers consider bringing with them?
    \u25ba Answer: The parish center picnic area is largely composed of asphalt pavement with few
    grassy areas and shade. The pavement absorbs and reflects heat. Based on years of
    experience, here are some things to consider:
    Lots of age-appropriate sunscreen
    Coolers
    \u00a0\u00a0 Strollers
    \u00a0\u00a0 Folding chairs
    \u00a0\u00a0 Blankets for spreading out
    \u00a0\u00a0 Pop up sun canopies that are self-supporting (i.e., do not need to be attached to the
    ground)
    \u00a0\u00a0 Cash or a checkbook (most activities (except the Knights of Columbus) do not
    take debit or credit cards<\/li>
  14. Gluten Products:<\/strong>
    \u25ba Question: Will non-gluten products be available?
    \u25ba Answer: TBD<\/li>
  15. \u00a0Preordered Food<\/strong>
    \u25ba Question: May attendees pre-order food?
    \u25ba Answer: Pre-ordering food is only available for\u00a0chicken dinners<\/a>\u00a0sold by the Knights of Columbus.<\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    SMOS 2024 Parish Labor Day Frequently Asked Questions History\u25ba Question: How long has Saint Mary of Sorrows (SMOS) been conducting picnics?\u25ba This will be the 148th annually-occurring parish family picnic. Prior to 1876,the parish had been conducting modest parish celebrations, often on the 4th of July. The1876 Centennial Exposition, an epic world&#39;s fair held in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-10228","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stmaryofsorrows.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stmaryofsorrows.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stmaryofsorrows.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stmaryofsorrows.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stmaryofsorrows.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stmaryofsorrows.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10228\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stmaryofsorrows.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}