Social Activities
Joe Onativia has been organizing trips for St. Catharine's parishioners for more than 25 years!! In that time, he has arranged over 200 trips to Broadway Shows, Westchester Dinner Theatre, Elmwood Theatre in Nyack, Restaurants on Arthur Avenue, Little Italy, Chinatown, Baseball Games, Army Football Games, Sight & Sound Theatre, the Botanical Gardens, Tours of New York City, Brooklyn, "da Bronx", and numerous other places! Joe is one of the nicest, most dedicated, and hardest-working people you'll ever meet. We are blessed to have you in our Parish, Joe! Thank you, and God bless you!
MESSAGE FROM JOE - I just want to thank everybody who made our trips so successful in 2023. This is my 28th year doing these trips and it has been a pleasure to have such a nice group on our trips. Again, if it wasn't for you going on these trips, I would be out of a job! Remember, if a trip gets sold out, we do have a waiting list. No matter what the weather is, we still go on the trips unless, of course, for a major snow storm. I hope to see you on one of these great trips!
UPCOMING SPRING/SUMMER TRIPS
Saturday, May 18 - Trip to the Rockefeller Estates in Sleepy Hollow and lunch in Tarrytown. We will have a guided 2 l/4 hour tour of the Rockefeller Estates. Walking is involved and standing. Shuttle bus will leave from the Phillipsburg Manor to take us to the six-story stone home to the Rockefeller family. Enjoy the elegant rooms, art galleries, golf room, coach barn, expansive, beautifully kept gardens and the collection of carriages and classic autos. Enjoy the stories of the four generations of Rockefellers who called this hilltop paradise their home. Bus will leave at 9:15 for a 10:00 tour. Afterwards we will have a delicious lunch at the Basque (Spanish) Restaurant in Tarrytown - Tapas dishes, paella, dessert, wine, sangria! Cost is $160 which includes the bus, guided tour, lunch, gratuities.
Wednesday, June 5 - Trip back to "Da Bronx." I was born and raised in "Da Bronx." I'm from the Highbridge section. We will go to the Bronx Woodlawn Cemetery where we will have a trolley waiting to give us a tour of this magnificent Cemetery. Some famous people you may know - Mayor Fiorella LaGuardia, several other Mayors, George M. Cohen, Lionel Hampton, Irving Berlin, Herman Melville, writers, musicians, sports figures, artists, and the list goes on. We will also go to Arthur Avenue to a great Italian restaurant and have time to do some shopping on Arthur Avenue. Don't forget your ravioli's, pastries, bread, mozzarella, light a candle at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church. If enough time, we'll take a ride up the Grand Concourse - see where Alexander's, Davega (Modells), Bronx Paradise were. Cost of the trip and time TBD. Make your reservations early because this trip will be Sold Out!!
Wednesday evening, June 12 - "Happy Together" Tour at the Bergen PAC in Englewood, New Jersey. You'll hear amazing music from The Turtles ("Happy Together"), Cowsills ("Hair"), The Association "Windy"), Badfinger "No Matter What"), Jay & the Americans, one of my favorite groups! ("Cara Mia", "This Magic Moment"), and so much more great music! Cost is $90 for orchestra seats (downstairs). Show starts at 7 PM. We would leave St. Catharine's Church at 5:45 PM. THIS TRIP IS SOLD OUT, BUT A WAIT-LIST IS AVAILABLE.
Tuesday evening, July 9 - Bateaux Premium Cruise from Pier 61, Chelsea Pier, around NYC. The cruise is the harbor lights cruise from 7-10 p.m. The Bateaux is an all glass European vessel offering unparalleled views of the NYC Skyline. It is a beautiful yacht. There will be live entertainment with a female vocalist. It will be a sit down dinner with an appetizer, choice of two entrees, dessert, coffee. Semi formal attire: dress pants, dress shirts; skirts or dresses and dress shoes. No shorts, jeans or sandals. See landmarks like the Empire State Building, World Trade Center, Brooklyn Bridge and a number of other sites. There is a cash bar. There is a beautiful observation deck. I think this will be a great trip. I like the idea that it will be in the evening and you will see the Manhattan skyline all lit up. The cost of the trip will be $195 each which will include a coach bus, dinner on the Bateaux.THIS TRIP IS SOLD OUT, BUT A WAIT-LIST IS AVAILABLE.
NEW - Friday, August 2 - Trip to Yankee Stadium for the Yankees vs. Blue Jays game.It is Italian Heritage Day. You would get a Yankee cap with the Italian flag on the side. We would go by coach bus and park in the bus parking lot. Cost of the trip is $125. We would have beverages, Yankee movies, snacks on the bus. The Yankees started the season very well and I would like to do the trip. Some of the Yankees of Italian heritage are: Ron Marinaccio, Lou Trivino, D.J. LeMahieu, Anthony Rizzo, Anthony Volpe. I thought this would be a fun day to go. If you could let me know by April 30th, that would work for me. The game would start at 7 p.m. and we would leave St. Catharine’s Church parking lot at 4:30 p.m. Friday night, you know there is always traffic across the George Washington Bridge. We would be there in plenty of time for the game. We would have St. Catharine’s Church name on the marquee! Go Yankees! Bring back the World Series to Da Bronx!
Thursday evening, August 15 - Trip to see Tusk, Tribute to Fleetwood Mac at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, NJ. Tusk is the top Fleetwood Mac tribute band by far. If this sounds familiar to you, we did see the show two years ago in Tarrytown. The show was excellent. I really don’t believe anybody can perform the songs of Fleetwood Mac better than this group. You will hear songs like “Don’t Stop, Go Your Own Way, Dreams & the Chain,” and so many great hits. We would get seats in the orchestra. Cost would be $85 which includes a coach bus. I believe you are going to really like this show. Even if you saw this show before, you never get tired of Fleetwood Mac. The music of Fleetwood Mac will live forever! We would leave from St. Catharine’s Church parking lot at 6:15 p.m. Show is at 8 p.m. Just a few tickets left!
I hope to see you on one of the trips! Trips get sold out very quickly, so please make your reservations early. All trips must be paid for when making your reservations. Make checks payable to St. Catharine's Church and mail to Joseph Onativia, 139 Moison Road, N., Blauvelt, New York 10913. All trips are on Leprechaun Coach Buses with restroom. For further info, call Joe, 845-365-1151 or on his Cell, 646-648-0823.
Joe's Reviews are almost as much fun as his trips! Here's his Review of the recent trip to Washington, D.C.
"We had such a great trip to Washington D.C. on April 2nd & 3rd. The weather was not very good. It rained and rained both days but it didn’t dampen our spirits. St. Catharine’s Church joined with St. Anthony’s Church in Northvale, N.J., for this trip. We had Fr. Carlos, the Pastor of St. Anthony’s Church, and also Fr. Jurak from Jersey City, who is a friend of Fr. Carlos, joined us on the trip. We left St. Catharine’s Church parking lot at 6:50 a.m. We made one stop. We arrived at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at 12:00 for the 12:10 Mass. The mass was downstairs and it was a beautiful Mass with an organist, cantor. We also had Fr. Carlos & Fr. Jurak concelebrate the Mass. After the Mass we went upstairs where we had a seated tour of the Basilica. We learned about the history of the Shrine, and the magnificent artwork. We could have toured the Basilica for a few hours. It was so beautiful. I still can’t get over the ceilings with the artwork and the glass windows. We did not get a chance to visit all the different Crypts. There were so many. This was definitely my favorite part of the trip. After the visit to the Basilica, we went to the Bible Museum, where you could easily have spent the whole day. It was five floors and each floor had something special about the Bible. I know people from our group enjoyed the Bible Museum very much. You learned so much about the Old & New Testament. After the Bible Museum, we went to the Comfort Inn in Springfield, Va. It was a nice hotel. Again, it was raining very hard. I should mention Romane, our bus driver. He drove the bus for De Camp Bus Company. He was excellent. I don’t know how he could drive in that weather. In Washington D.C., there was so much traffic but he managed to get around the D.C. area with no problem. It also helped that we were able to get in the HOV lane which saved us a lot of time. After we freshened up in the hotel, we were on our way to a delicious dinner at Maggiano’s Little Italy Restaurant in Washington D.C. We had our own private room upstairs. The meal was excellent. The meal was served family style. Our main entrée was the chicken piccata. We also had salad, pasta, dessert. Everybody enjoyed themselves at the restaurant. After the restaurant we headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep. The next morning we had a delicious breakfast in our own private room. We had pancakes, eggs, cereal, bacon, toast, juice, coffee. After we finished our breakfast we packed our bags and we went to Washington D.C. to meet our tour guide at the base of Capitol Hill. Again, it was raining very hard. We took a tour of the different monuments, World War II, Korean, Vietnam. We saw the Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson monuments. We even got to see some of the Cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms bloomed early this year. Some of us left the bus to take a look at the different monuments. Most of the people stayed on the bus because of the weather. I was glad I brought my Rockport waterproof shoes. You needed them. After our tour of Washington D.C., we headed back home to Blauvelt. We made one stop along the way and came home by 7 p.m. I have to give this trip five stars. That’s right five *****. I have to start by saying we had a great group of people on the bus from both parishes. We got to know each other from this trip and enjoyed each other’s company. It was just a pleasant group. We had plenty of snacks, Belvita blueberry cookies, Lorna Doones, bananas, clementines, honey crisp apples, water. We showed the movie “My Fat Greek Wedding” on the bus which everybody enjoyed. I don’t think you ever get tired of this movie. We also had a raffle on the bus where we gave away some great prizes. Thank you again to our bus driver, Romane, for driving in that rainstorm. Thank you to Fr. Carlos for helping to plan the trip and being such a great Priest. Thank you to Joe for hosting the trip and keeping everybody informed of the places and times we would visit the different sights. Thank you to all the people from St. Anthony’s, St. Catharine’s. Most of all thank you God for getting us to the different destinations and home safely."
Respectfully submitted by
Joe Onativia,
Social Director at St.Catharine of Alexandria Church
MESSAGE FROM JOE - I just want to thank everybody who made our trips so successful in 2023. This is my 28th year doing these trips and it has been a pleasure to have such a nice group on our trips. Again, if it wasn't for you going on these trips, I would be out of a job! Remember, if a trip gets sold out, we do have a waiting list. No matter what the weather is, we still go on the trips unless, of course, for a major snow storm. I hope to see you on one of these great trips!
UPCOMING SPRING/SUMMER TRIPS
Saturday, May 18 - Trip to the Rockefeller Estates in Sleepy Hollow and lunch in Tarrytown. We will have a guided 2 l/4 hour tour of the Rockefeller Estates. Walking is involved and standing. Shuttle bus will leave from the Phillipsburg Manor to take us to the six-story stone home to the Rockefeller family. Enjoy the elegant rooms, art galleries, golf room, coach barn, expansive, beautifully kept gardens and the collection of carriages and classic autos. Enjoy the stories of the four generations of Rockefellers who called this hilltop paradise their home. Bus will leave at 9:15 for a 10:00 tour. Afterwards we will have a delicious lunch at the Basque (Spanish) Restaurant in Tarrytown - Tapas dishes, paella, dessert, wine, sangria! Cost is $160 which includes the bus, guided tour, lunch, gratuities.
Wednesday, June 5 - Trip back to "Da Bronx." I was born and raised in "Da Bronx." I'm from the Highbridge section. We will go to the Bronx Woodlawn Cemetery where we will have a trolley waiting to give us a tour of this magnificent Cemetery. Some famous people you may know - Mayor Fiorella LaGuardia, several other Mayors, George M. Cohen, Lionel Hampton, Irving Berlin, Herman Melville, writers, musicians, sports figures, artists, and the list goes on. We will also go to Arthur Avenue to a great Italian restaurant and have time to do some shopping on Arthur Avenue. Don't forget your ravioli's, pastries, bread, mozzarella, light a candle at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church. If enough time, we'll take a ride up the Grand Concourse - see where Alexander's, Davega (Modells), Bronx Paradise were. Cost of the trip and time TBD. Make your reservations early because this trip will be Sold Out!!
Wednesday evening, June 12 - "Happy Together" Tour at the Bergen PAC in Englewood, New Jersey. You'll hear amazing music from The Turtles ("Happy Together"), Cowsills ("Hair"), The Association "Windy"), Badfinger "No Matter What"), Jay & the Americans, one of my favorite groups! ("Cara Mia", "This Magic Moment"), and so much more great music! Cost is $90 for orchestra seats (downstairs). Show starts at 7 PM. We would leave St. Catharine's Church at 5:45 PM. THIS TRIP IS SOLD OUT, BUT A WAIT-LIST IS AVAILABLE.
Tuesday evening, July 9 - Bateaux Premium Cruise from Pier 61, Chelsea Pier, around NYC. The cruise is the harbor lights cruise from 7-10 p.m. The Bateaux is an all glass European vessel offering unparalleled views of the NYC Skyline. It is a beautiful yacht. There will be live entertainment with a female vocalist. It will be a sit down dinner with an appetizer, choice of two entrees, dessert, coffee. Semi formal attire: dress pants, dress shirts; skirts or dresses and dress shoes. No shorts, jeans or sandals. See landmarks like the Empire State Building, World Trade Center, Brooklyn Bridge and a number of other sites. There is a cash bar. There is a beautiful observation deck. I think this will be a great trip. I like the idea that it will be in the evening and you will see the Manhattan skyline all lit up. The cost of the trip will be $195 each which will include a coach bus, dinner on the Bateaux.THIS TRIP IS SOLD OUT, BUT A WAIT-LIST IS AVAILABLE.
NEW - Friday, August 2 - Trip to Yankee Stadium for the Yankees vs. Blue Jays game.It is Italian Heritage Day. You would get a Yankee cap with the Italian flag on the side. We would go by coach bus and park in the bus parking lot. Cost of the trip is $125. We would have beverages, Yankee movies, snacks on the bus. The Yankees started the season very well and I would like to do the trip. Some of the Yankees of Italian heritage are: Ron Marinaccio, Lou Trivino, D.J. LeMahieu, Anthony Rizzo, Anthony Volpe. I thought this would be a fun day to go. If you could let me know by April 30th, that would work for me. The game would start at 7 p.m. and we would leave St. Catharine’s Church parking lot at 4:30 p.m. Friday night, you know there is always traffic across the George Washington Bridge. We would be there in plenty of time for the game. We would have St. Catharine’s Church name on the marquee! Go Yankees! Bring back the World Series to Da Bronx!
Thursday evening, August 15 - Trip to see Tusk, Tribute to Fleetwood Mac at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, NJ. Tusk is the top Fleetwood Mac tribute band by far. If this sounds familiar to you, we did see the show two years ago in Tarrytown. The show was excellent. I really don’t believe anybody can perform the songs of Fleetwood Mac better than this group. You will hear songs like “Don’t Stop, Go Your Own Way, Dreams & the Chain,” and so many great hits. We would get seats in the orchestra. Cost would be $85 which includes a coach bus. I believe you are going to really like this show. Even if you saw this show before, you never get tired of Fleetwood Mac. The music of Fleetwood Mac will live forever! We would leave from St. Catharine’s Church parking lot at 6:15 p.m. Show is at 8 p.m. Just a few tickets left!
I hope to see you on one of the trips! Trips get sold out very quickly, so please make your reservations early. All trips must be paid for when making your reservations. Make checks payable to St. Catharine's Church and mail to Joseph Onativia, 139 Moison Road, N., Blauvelt, New York 10913. All trips are on Leprechaun Coach Buses with restroom. For further info, call Joe, 845-365-1151 or on his Cell, 646-648-0823.
Joe's Reviews are almost as much fun as his trips! Here's his Review of the recent trip to Washington, D.C.
"We had such a great trip to Washington D.C. on April 2nd & 3rd. The weather was not very good. It rained and rained both days but it didn’t dampen our spirits. St. Catharine’s Church joined with St. Anthony’s Church in Northvale, N.J., for this trip. We had Fr. Carlos, the Pastor of St. Anthony’s Church, and also Fr. Jurak from Jersey City, who is a friend of Fr. Carlos, joined us on the trip. We left St. Catharine’s Church parking lot at 6:50 a.m. We made one stop. We arrived at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at 12:00 for the 12:10 Mass. The mass was downstairs and it was a beautiful Mass with an organist, cantor. We also had Fr. Carlos & Fr. Jurak concelebrate the Mass. After the Mass we went upstairs where we had a seated tour of the Basilica. We learned about the history of the Shrine, and the magnificent artwork. We could have toured the Basilica for a few hours. It was so beautiful. I still can’t get over the ceilings with the artwork and the glass windows. We did not get a chance to visit all the different Crypts. There were so many. This was definitely my favorite part of the trip. After the visit to the Basilica, we went to the Bible Museum, where you could easily have spent the whole day. It was five floors and each floor had something special about the Bible. I know people from our group enjoyed the Bible Museum very much. You learned so much about the Old & New Testament. After the Bible Museum, we went to the Comfort Inn in Springfield, Va. It was a nice hotel. Again, it was raining very hard. I should mention Romane, our bus driver. He drove the bus for De Camp Bus Company. He was excellent. I don’t know how he could drive in that weather. In Washington D.C., there was so much traffic but he managed to get around the D.C. area with no problem. It also helped that we were able to get in the HOV lane which saved us a lot of time. After we freshened up in the hotel, we were on our way to a delicious dinner at Maggiano’s Little Italy Restaurant in Washington D.C. We had our own private room upstairs. The meal was excellent. The meal was served family style. Our main entrée was the chicken piccata. We also had salad, pasta, dessert. Everybody enjoyed themselves at the restaurant. After the restaurant we headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep. The next morning we had a delicious breakfast in our own private room. We had pancakes, eggs, cereal, bacon, toast, juice, coffee. After we finished our breakfast we packed our bags and we went to Washington D.C. to meet our tour guide at the base of Capitol Hill. Again, it was raining very hard. We took a tour of the different monuments, World War II, Korean, Vietnam. We saw the Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson monuments. We even got to see some of the Cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms bloomed early this year. Some of us left the bus to take a look at the different monuments. Most of the people stayed on the bus because of the weather. I was glad I brought my Rockport waterproof shoes. You needed them. After our tour of Washington D.C., we headed back home to Blauvelt. We made one stop along the way and came home by 7 p.m. I have to give this trip five stars. That’s right five *****. I have to start by saying we had a great group of people on the bus from both parishes. We got to know each other from this trip and enjoyed each other’s company. It was just a pleasant group. We had plenty of snacks, Belvita blueberry cookies, Lorna Doones, bananas, clementines, honey crisp apples, water. We showed the movie “My Fat Greek Wedding” on the bus which everybody enjoyed. I don’t think you ever get tired of this movie. We also had a raffle on the bus where we gave away some great prizes. Thank you again to our bus driver, Romane, for driving in that rainstorm. Thank you to Fr. Carlos for helping to plan the trip and being such a great Priest. Thank you to Joe for hosting the trip and keeping everybody informed of the places and times we would visit the different sights. Thank you to all the people from St. Anthony’s, St. Catharine’s. Most of all thank you God for getting us to the different destinations and home safely."
Respectfully submitted by
Joe Onativia,
Social Director at St.Catharine of Alexandria Church