Italian Festivals

Get ready for the Italian Festival that will be coming to your town after the summertime. Most Italian festivals are in the month of October due to Christopher Columbus day being in the same month. Some people even call October "Italian American Month." The big Festa in my county is the "Italian Family Festival," on Lincoln Ave in the Willowglen district of San Jose. It's going to be on August 29th and 30th. Last year it was in the month of September, though. San Francisco has a big Italian festival called "Festa Italiana" in North Beach. Redwood City has one called the "Sicilian Festival" in downtown Redwood City. Oakland has a big one called "Festa Italiana" in Jack London square. Reno has one called the "El Dorado Italian Festival" outside of the El Dorado Hotel & Casino.

I keep hearing about the Italian festivals in New York. Just like the "San Gennaro Festival" in Little Italy, "Dance of the Giglio" in Brooklyn and the "Italian Culture Festival" in Queens. But I never been to them. I hope some day I will. What's the big festa in your town?

No disrespect to any italian festivals (and I'd sure love to attend if there's lasagna involved)-- BUT everyone knows that the best festival in the world is "Taste of Chicago" - by far.

It's the largest food festival in the WORLD!

Chicagoers love to eat and it shows. Even the pizza is a deep dish pizza that fills your stomach! unlike those skinny little things they sell in NY...

Oh oh!! Be careful Fame. I think some will disagree. I didn't know Chicago had an Italian festival (though not surprised). Is it in Oct? I do know that Italian food in Chicago is good.

There is a San Genaro festival in L.A. every year. I have yet to go because even though it may be nice, I am sure it can't compare to NYC's Little Italy (even if the area is shrinking). Still I may give it a shot.


TIS

i have to agree with fame on this

You and Fame are both from Chicago? So is Don Sicilia. Gee, I wonder what he thinks.

The battle of the Italian Festivals. This should be fun.

TIS

TIS,

"Taste of Chicago" is not an italian festival, but of course you can find there some excellent italian food like Chicago's famous Italian Beef sandwich.

There is an italian festival in Chicago called "Festa Pasta Vino" at Oakley Ave, I've yet to go there, but I heard it's good. Small tho, nowhere as big as "Taste of Chicago".

Likely the most popular Italian festival in the Chicago area would have been the parish festival at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel church in Melrose Park. For as long as I can remember, my family simply referred to it as "The Feast."

Here's a link to the web site: http://www.olmcshrine.org/

Someone from my family has been attending for almost as long as the festival has been held, and that's over 100 years. My younger sister took my mom this year...it was her turn. I took mom last year.

The Feast is held the weekend preceeding the actual feast day which I believe is July 16th. There's an outdoor mass followed by a procession through the streets of the Village of Melrose Park back to the church. It's an old world, old school ethnic and religious festival that has NEVER lost its charm. Although the village no longer has the large population of Italians, it is now populated by an equally devoted, and equally Catholic, Hispanic population that have carried on the tradition.

"Didja buy a candle?" I always make sure to "buy a candle" in the church. For a modest donation inside the church, volunteers will light a candle on your behalf. You give them your donation ($5 is the preferred minimum) and a gentleman calls out, "One candle" to an assistant who dutifully lights your devotional candle. Give more money, get more candles...and a more enthusiastic response from the volunteers running the candle altar. When people start to drop a couple of twenties or even a fifty, and the guy sings out "FIVE candles!" and his partner starts firing-up the torch to light all of those candles, you'd swear the church was going up in flames.

Did I mention that the statue, which stands nearly six feet tall, has REAL hair?

Unlike a lot of neighborhood festivals, The Feast still has a decent assortment of food vendors, and they still tend towards Italian food, though I'm waiting for the stuffed pepper with chorizo rather than Italian sausage.

If you wanted to visit one neighborhood festival in Chicago that still captures the spirit of a parish festival, I would recommend the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Melrose Park.

Here's something about The Feast from the Illinois Police and Sheriffs News that sound like the inspiration for a Sopranos episode.

tony b.

...who wishes he had the concession for the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Barbie Doll.



I am so gonna burn in hell...or at least a little purgatory...

Thank you for finally adding a Neopolitan festival..........

There is a San Genaro festival in L.A. every year. I have yet to go because even though it may be nice, I am sure it can't compare to NYC's Little Italy (even if the area is shrinking). Still I may give it a shot.


TIS [/quote]


There's actually five San Gennaro festivals in the US. The towns that have them are NYC, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Clearwater, Florida and Tampa, Florida. But the biggest one is in NYC.

D68

Tony,

Thanks for your post! I heard about the "Our lady of Mount Carmel Festival" before. My mother is from westside Chicago. Another great festival I've been to is the "Little Italy Festival" in San Diego. Here's the website for that festa. http://www.littleitalysd.com/festa/index.asp

Every June our church, Our Lady Of Sorrows, which was an Italian parish, would have a festival. There first was a parade in which a huge crucifix was carried (by at least 50 men) through the downtown area. After the parade, on the church grounds there were, games, food and lots of fun. At the very end of the evening they'd raffle off the car that we'd see parked in the church lot several months before.

This was always referred to as "The Feast." I remember bystanders watching as the parade went by; I have on 8 mm film by great grandmother who was, at the time 90 something and insisted on walking the parade. God bless her. I can still smell the Italian sausage (along with other great food) cooking while walking the church grounds.

What was extra great for us kids, was that my grandmother lived just down the street from the church. My cousins and I kept running back to ask our parents more money.

TIS

I've posted this picture before. This is the crucifix that was carried thru the streets. It recently went to the Grand Rapids History Museum.

If you click on the link, it's the church website (Church is still there and quite beautiful even still), but with many more ethnicities besides Italians.
The current group of those who made their First Holy Communion was always in the parade (I had my turn as well). Gave us another chance to wear a dress that must have cost quite a bit.

Btw, I read that there was an Our Lady Of Sorrows Church in Chicago as well.

Anyway, many happy memories from a time gone by.



http://www.ourladyofsorrows-gr.org/shrine.asp



TIS

I just checked it out. It sounds like a pretty cool event.

We went to San Gennaro last night, and not to sound like a cranky middle-aged man, BUT, it's not nearly as good as it used to be.

It's a lot smaller than it was years ago, and it's not even solely Italian anymore. Not to sound intolerant, but if I want falafel, I'll go to one of the 2 million falafel stands in the city.

In years past, we'd walk around for a few hours, then pick a restaurant. Last night we walked the Feast for an hour, then took the B train to the Village and had a truly memorable meal at Il Mulino.

My friend Edward has been trying to push me to become a Sons Of Italy member, and recently I've been thinking about it. He was at the San Gennaro festival and said it was really small for it being the biggest Festa Italiana in the USA. I think it has a lot to do with the 2009 recession. Nobody wants to buy anything so they're staying home instead of going out and spending.

A kid comes up to me in a white jacket, gives me a Ritz cracker, and uh, fava beans, he says falafel. I say uh, uh, falafel my ass, that's a Ritz cracker and fava beans!



Bring out the peppas and sauseeege!

EXACTLY!!!!

Gosh...I remember when I was a kid the annual 'Feast' up the block at our St. Nicholas Church in Palisades Park, NJ. Our neighborhood at the time was practically 100% Italian (mostly Korean now) and the feast took up barely more than the 4 street corners...but to a kid of 5, 6, 7 it was heaven. I remember always loving those gigantic punching balloons with the sand inside.

Our present church (again, right up the block) is having a 'Feast' for the first time in years the weekend of 9/24-9/27. Doubt I'll see those balloons, but the aroma of sausage & peppers will suffice in bringing back all those Italian childhood memories.

PB,

My daughter & SIL were there last night. You probably walked right past them. They are home now. They said it was very crowded but that the pizza was fantastic. They enjoyed it even with the crowd.

TIS

We went to the Feast of the Assumption in Little Italy on the east side of Cleveland last month. It was tremendous. Great food and atmosphere.

Isn't Il Mulino where Clinton and Obama had lunch yesterday?