Like the Fall Festival at the Middleton Farms in Pasco, September brings the Sausage Fest to Richland. This mainstay of the Tri-Cities is sponsored by Christ the King Church at 1122 Long Ave. in Richland. Many activities will be repeated this year, but new events will be added, and some annual events adjusted. This year’s celebration will be held on September 16th and 17th.
The Sausage Fest has something for every age and there is no admission fee! While this is a fundraising event, the organizers are diligent about keeping prices for fun activities to a minimum to encourage a full weekend of family fun. There will be dozens of games for the younger kids to test their skills and win prizes. For the middle schoolers, there is an evening dance.
Of course, as the event’s title suggests, sausage sales will be at the heart of the food de jour, but if you don’t like sausage, there will be over a dozen food booths with the best of the best homemade goodies. Speaking of food, Christ the King’s event is famous for its serving of corn on the cob. The students at the school spend many hours shucking the corn that has been delivered by the truck loads to the school from local farms. A favorite booth is always the pie booth…with some of the best pie makers sharing their specialties.
There is a mainstage in the school’s gym with local musicians entertaining adults. Along with the sausage, adults can buy beer and wine, and if the spirit moves, dance the night away. So many locals come to Christ the King’s gym for the music that most will see someone they know seated at the wall-to-wall tables.
To increase the fundraising efforts and involve the students, there are raffle tickets on sale. A Christ the King student may knock on your door, or you can buy the tickets at the event. The tickets are only $2.00 each and some of the gifts are enviable. If your ticket is pulled, you may win a two-night stay in a luxury cabin at Suncadia Resort that sleeps up to 14! Or you may take home an E-bike. Another winning ticket will offer an overnight stay with a golf session for two at the Skamania Lodge, along with a gift card to Porter’s Real BBQ. If you need a new Barbecue grill…this might be the gift for you. There’s an overnight stay at the Lodge at Columbia Point and a gift card to Anthony’s. You could also win a REACH Museum Family Membership or a $100.00 gift car at Job’s Nursery. These are just some of the generous items ready to be given to the lucky raffle ticket winners.
The few years before COVID kept this even closed or made it take-out only, there was a small wine garden outside on the west side of the school. It became very popular, and the seating was inadequate, so this year the organizers are moving the beer/wine garden to the much larger playfield area, complete with a stage for musicians. This year Free Agent will entertain festival goers on Friday from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., but closing isn’t until 11:59 p.m., Saturday. Music will be plentiful both inside and out. Plan for several hours of family fun in mid-September, reacquaint with friends, and support a cause that benefits our community at the 2022 Sausage Fest.
