Festival clash: San Rocco Festa dispute goes to court
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A money-related conflict between two organizations planning to hold competing San Rocco Festas in August may be ultimately resolved in court.
Members of the San Rocco Foundation have filed a motion in Beaver County Court asking a judge to give the foundation access to financial records and festival-related equipment ahead of the group’s planned San Rocco Festa next month.
Mired in a yearslong leadership dispute, members of the now-splintered San Rocco Foundation and San Rocco Cultural Committee have each pledged to hold separate festivals this August. The competing Italian events would take place on the same dates with similar attractions, but in different locations.
More:Competing San Rocco Festas scheduled; one near mall, another at a Center Twp. church
"We filed an injunction for (the San Rocco Cultural Committee) to cease and desist from contacting vendors (for their planned event),” said John Havey, the attorney representing the foundation. “And we want an accounting on their bank accounts. The position of the San Rocco Foundation is we raised the money and it's ours to distribute."
According to the court filing, the two factions formally merged under one entity in 2018 after San Rocco Foundation leadership courted the Cultural Committee via donations for years prior.
Discord persisted among members of the two boards, the filing alleges, with membership asking the Cultural Committee’s board to resign after becoming “disillusioned” with its financial management. The board reportedly denied that request and continued to control financial accounts, solicit donations and plan the 2022 San Rocco Festa without adhering to requirements outlined in the organization's bylaws.
The San Rocco Foundation claims the Cultural Committee Board denied them access to stored materials under lock-and-key, whereas the Cultural Committee claims the Foundation has no right by state law to take over the festival, maintaining it is solely licensed to own and manage the event.
In the court filing, Foundation members say the Cultural Committee holds an estimated $35,000 in festival equipment in a local storage unit and $250,000 in the account bearing the San Rocco Festa name. They’re asking a judge for immediate access to both.
Launched in Aliquippa in 1925 to honor St. Rocco, a patron saint of Italian immigrants believed to be a protector against the plague and all contagious diseases, San Rocco Festa took place in Aliquippa for generations. The festival moved to Center Township Park from 2016-19, and was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Dispute begins:Mired in dispute, a 'modified' San Rocco Festa returns at new Center Township location
This year, one San Rocco Festa is set for Aug. 12-14 at a "field next to the Beaver Valley Auto Mall," at 750 Beaver Valley Mall Blvd., near the Beaver Valley Mall, according to the San Rocco Cultural Committee website. The other San Rocco Festa, run by the San Rocco Foundation, is set for those same dates at St. Frances Cabrini Campus of Mary, Queen of Saints Parish in Center Township.
Both events advertise the traditional procession through the streets of Aliquippa following that weekend's Sunday Mass at St. Titus Church in Aliquippa.
"This is a bad idea to have two festivals at the same time,” said Havey, calling the Cultural Committee the "Johnny Come Latelys."
The San Rocco Cultural Committee “disagrees vehemently with the allegations of fact and law” in the court filing, committee President Michael Persi said in a statement. “The San Rocco Cultural Committee intends to respond to the complaint and defend the litigation aggressively, while the committee’s court filings will explain its position on the matter in full.”
The committee “has a deep appreciation for the community’s continued understanding and support … and will continue to fight to ensure that it can accomplish its mission and provide the community with the best possible Festa,” Persi added.
Good times:San Rocco means Italian food, fun
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Aliquippa area San Rocco Festa dispute goes to court
