80TH ANNUAL FEAST OF SAN GENNARO
TO BE HELD SEPTEMBER 13– 23, 2007
The 80th Annual Feast of San Gennaro, the oldest, biggest and best known Italian festival in the United States, will begin on Thursday, September 13, and continue through Sunday, September 23, 2007. This year’s “Feast of All Feasts,” presented annually since 1996 by Figli di San Gennaro (Children of San Gennaro), Inc., a local not-for-profit organization, is expected to attract 1.5 million visitors to Little Italy to celebrate the Patron Saint of Naples.
One of the most popular tourist attractions in New York City, the Feast of San Gennaro features activities for the entire family that take place along Mulberry, Hester and Grand Streets, from 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. (midnight on Fridays and Saturdays). The local streets are decorated with festive banners and arches in green, white and red, the colors of the Italian flag. More than 40 of Little Italy's most famous Italian restaurants, many of them landmarks, roll out the red carpet for Feast visitors, and many provide outdoor dining facilities for the event, offering a variety of Italian specialty foods and pastries. Some restaurants even have strolling musicians to entertain their customers.
The festivities – including religious processions and parades, free musical entertainment, food stands and a professional cannoli-eating contest – are capped on Wednesday, September 19th with a celebratory Mass and candlelight procession as the Statue of the Saint is carried from its permanent home in Most Precious Blood Church at 109 Mulberry Street between Canal and Hester Streets through the streets of Little Italy.
In addition, there are more than 200 street vendors who set up shop along the Festival Streets selling a wide variety of goods and merchandise, including international foods, official Little Italy souvenir items and boutique merchandise including jewelry, accessories and clothing. The Feast also has a number of arcade games as well as many fun activities for the younger members of the family, including carnival rides.
Highlights of this year’s Feast include The Blessing of the Stands which officially starts the Feast on Thursday, September 13, at 6 PM when Father Fabian Grifone, pastor of Most Precious Blood Church, walks through the Feast blessing all the vendors and wishing them a successful Feast; The 6th Annual Cannoli Eating Competition on Friday, September 14, at 2 PM, featuring professional eaters from all over the world in a competition sanctioned by the International Professional Eaters Federation; The Grand Procession on Saturday, September 15, at 2 PM with actor Tony Lo Bianco as Grand Marshal; and The Celebratory Mass honoring San Gennaro on Wednesday, September 15, at 6 PM in Most Precious Blood Church, followed by the Religious Procession with the Statue at 7 PM through the streets of Little Italy.
A Performance Stage will be located at the corner of Grand and Centre Market Streets and will feature live entertainment and daily special events starting with the 6th Annual Cannoli Eating Competition on Friday, September 14, at 2 PM. There will be live concerts and radio broadcasts on this stage from 7 to 10 PM daily. WCBS1010 Radio will broadcast live from the stage on Saturday, Sept. 15, at 7 PM, hosted by deejay Joe Causi. Sirius Satellite Radio Network will also broadcast live from the stage on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 7 PM with Bruce Morrow (Cousin Brucie) at the microphone. Vito Picone and the Elegants will perform at 4:30 PM that day. Other nights will feature broadcasts by radio stations Z100, KTU103.5 and Q104.3.
On Wednesday, Sept. 19, there will also be a Special Memorial Concert for Luciano Pavarotti on the Performance stage featuring professional opera and Italian folk singers including the top finalists in this year’s Little Italy Vocal Competitions for Tenors and Sopranos. Those performing include tenors Eapen Leubner and Raffaele Sepe, and sopranos Jennifer Rowley, Anya Matanovic, Sungji Kim and Nicole Macagnone.
Other Special Events: Induction Ceremony of Tony Lo Bianco into the Little Italy Wall of Fame on Saturday, September 15, at 1 PM, and a Preview Screening for the benefit of Figli di San Gennaro of a new independent feature film Everyone Wants to Be Italian at the Angelika Film Center on Wednesday, September 12, at 7:
The Feast of San Gennaro first took place in New York City on September 19, 1926 when newly arrived immigrants from Naples, Italy, settled in crowded apartment houses along Mulberry Street in a section that became known as Little Italy. In addition to seeking a better quality of life in America for their families, these new Americans also brought with them a rich culture and deep religious heritage including the centuries-old tradition they had followed in Italy to celebrate the day in 305 A.D. when Saint Gennaro was martyred for the faith.
In the years since, the Feast has grown from a one-day street celebration to a gala 11-day event. On September 19, a Religious Procession, including the Statue of San Gennaro, winds along the length of Mulberry and Mott Streets, between Canal and Houston Streets. The procession begins immediately following a 6 PM Celebratory Mass at Most Precious Blood Church, the National Shrine of San Gennaro. This year this procession will be led by Father Fabian Grifone, pastor of Most Precious Blood Church and other members of his religious order.
Although a party atmosphere permeates the Feast, it is really a religious celebration that has become a proud tradition handed down from generation to generation of Italian-Americans. For 11 days and nights the streets of Little Italy are filled with joyous people of all ethnic and racial backgrounds eating fabulous Italian cuisine, listening to great live entertainment and just having a wonderful time. But there is a religious purpose behind the festivities which is never forgotten, and that becomes evident on September 19th, the Saint's Day.
The continued growth of the Feast over the past ten years has enabled Figli di San Gennaro, Inc. to donate more than $1.6-million to worthy causes providing valuable services for children and education in the Little Italy community and beyond. At the conclusion of each annual Feast, sizeable donations are distributed to scores of worthy organizations in all five boroughs and the tri-state area to help the needy and the young. No other public festival in America donates more money to charity than does the Feast of San Gennaro.
