Harvesting for Him, Mustang Miler set for SJNCS/Church

St. John Neumann Catholic School and Church are celebrating the fall season with a Harvesting for Him 1-mile fun run, Mustang Miler 5K and festival at the school and church, 633 St. John Court, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 21-22.

The Farragut community is invited to attend and participate, according to Patrick Wade, director of development for SJN Catholic Church and School.

“It’s just a great community builder for the church and the school and the surrounding areas,” he said. “It’s just a lot of fun and tradition. It’s a good change for people to get together and have a good time.”

Wade anticipates a few hundred attending and hopes for good weather. He expects about 140 to 150 taking part in the races as well.

“We’ve been doing a fall festival for years,” he said. “The name, Harvesting for Him, we changed it to that a few years ago, and we started adding a couple different elements, like the races.

“This is just the second year it’s been an official, professionally timed race,” Wade said.

“(Harvesting for Him is) basically the same format as the last couple of years,” he said.

The fun starts Saturday morning, starting at SJN, with the 1-mile Fun Run/Walk at 8:30 a.m. and 5K run/walk at 9 a.m. — “whichever people want to do. There are two

options,” Wade added. “For the most part, it runs along the greenway. It goes through a couple neighborhoods here and there, but it’s mostly the greenway.

“We’ll have various prizes in categories based on gender and age.”

Cost is $30 for each race to register, which can be done in advance or in person the day of the event. To register in advance and get a T-shirt, visit the SJN website at sjnknox.org/run

The weekend activitites continue from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 22, on the church grounds with the Harvesting for Him Festival, which is free to attend.

The only cost is “just if you want to buy food or beverages,” the SNJ official said.

“We’ll have inflatables, a rock-climbing wall, food trucks, some games and a cake walk,” Wade added. “We sell beer and wine for grown-ups, and the Knights of Columbus does a soccer kick challenge.”

The festival’s sponsors are Nerds-to-Go Knoxville and Innate Wellness.

“This year, one new thing is we are trying a barbecue

competition,” Wade said. “We’re gauging interest to

see if there are teams that want to compete.”

After the event, the church will present “Purified and Gender,” a one-day, two-talk presentation from Jason Evert with the Chastity Project from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m., Sunday, in the church.

“The Chastity Project event aims to provide young people with valuable insights into building healthy relationships, fostering self-respect and understanding the importance of practicing chastity in today’s world,” a press release from the church stated.