Katherine Pulzone’s news on the: La Festa Di Tutte le Feste (translation: (You can try all 3 and still make it to the Louisville Italian American Association Feast running from September 12^th to the 14^th.)

The Feast of All Feasts) is the Feast of San Gennaro, originating in Naples, Italy and the biggest feast celebrating this saint is in New York. Recent years has brought the feast to Las Vegas and Los Angeles because of the intense Italian population that have moved there from the East coast. Of all the Italian celebrations back in New York and New Jersey, this was my favorite. It was enormous and we would go every day because you just couldn’t see and try everything in one day. When I was a youngster, all the relatives would pile into cars and head to Mulberry Street or we’d take the train and not worry about parking. One of the powerful memories is the men, led by the parish priest, carrying the statue through the feast and the hundreds of paper bills being pinned to the statue by the crowds. The men were perspiring and everyone cheered as they passed by. The crowds also made the sign-of-the-cross out of respect for the passing statue and a quick little prayer as it would sway on the platform from the weight on the men’s shoulders. Another moment was when they would grease a telephone poll with thick dark slippery grease and put a bag of $10,000 on the top. The male (no, girls didn’t participate) who could climb up there and get it, would be cheered and applauded and he kept the money. Back in the fifties and sixties, that was a huge amount of money. These boys would practice all year long for this event.

In Italy, THE FEAST OF SAN GENNARO: September 19, is the day when Naples honors San Gennaro, a saint and martyr who died while visiting Christians imprisoned by Rome and forced to work as slaves in sulphur mines for the crime of being Christian. Hundreds of Napoletani sing, cry and pray to the massive statue of the saint as it slowly and majestically moves through the streets of the city, passing vendors with stalls and enraptured believers alike, dispensing its blessings to the faithful citizens.

I had the good fortune to be in Naples two days after the feast and yes, the blood was liquid and the church was so spiritual that you found yourself getting goose-bumps in this ancient church of miracles. I stayed in a hotel right across the street from the church and the activity was never-ending. This church always has worshipers going in and out every day, all day. The traffic is exciting and there is no absence of entertainment watching the minor accidents and drivers pulling the box of pastries out of the car and placing them on the roof as the drivers argue in the street. This is in case the car can’t run, the driver won’t forget the pastry.

The festival ideally culminates in the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of San Gennaro, which takes place every year around the same time. Since the forces of divine providence don't necessarily follow the Gregorian calendar, the miracle might not fall precisely on the day of the procession, though it seems that quite often it does.

The blood of the saint is contained in a vessel kept in the Duomo di Napoli, and twice a year through the intervention of the saint the blood turns liquid again, to attest to the faithful that he still watches over the city. It is difficult to predict with any degree of exactitude whether the blood will liquefy on time - "it depends on San Gennaro, really" - but apparently it is an omen of ill fortune if the miracle fails to happen: a long history of disasters is said to be linked to former failures.

Back in New York: Indoor and outdoor dining at 35 of Little Italy's most famous Italian restaurants. More than 300 licensed street vendors selling international foods, official Feast of San Gennaro, New York City and Little Italy souvenirs.

The 81st Annual Feast of San Gennaro, New York City’s oldest, biggest and most famous religious street festival, will be celebrated in 2008 starting Thursday, September 11 and continuing for 11 days through Sunday, September 21.

This year’s Feast will again attract more than 1-million people to the streets of historic Little Italy in the annual salute to the Patron Saint of Naples – San Gennaro. The street festivities – including religious processions with the statue of San Gennaro, parades. free entertainment, food stands and a cannoli and a cannoli eating contest – are capped on Friday, September 19 – the Official Feast Day -- with a celebratory Mass honoring San Gennaro, followed by a candlelit procession as the Statue of San Gennaro is carried from its permanent home in Most Precious Blood Church on Mulberry Street through the streets of Little Italy.

“Each year the beloved Feast of San Gennaro brings the world to Little Italy, and Little Italy to the world,” said Joseph Mattone, President of Figli di San Gennaro, Inc. “The Feast is a time for remembrance and reconciliation, and a time for celebration. The excellent food, the free musical entertainment and the excitement will all be there again this year, bigger and better than ever. On behalf of Figli di San Gennaro, I invite people of all backgrounds and ethnicities to join us in September in New York City’s Little Italy to help celebrate Italian culture and heritage.”

Here are some photos of the feast and the statue of Saint Gennaro that is carried down the street. Take a look at the all the money pinned at the bottom of the Saint’s feet. This is common with all feasts – the saints are carried down the streets and the crowds pin money throughout the door as a donation to the cause.

Photos by Battman Studio

The first Feast in New York City took place on September 19, 1926 when newly arrived immigrants from Naples settled along Mulberry Street in the Little Italy section of New York City and decided to continue the tradition they had followed in Italy to celebrate the day in 305 A.D. when Saint Gennaro was martyred for the faith. One of the most popular events each year in New York City, the Feast of San Gennaro attracts crowds exceeding 1-million people during its 11-day run. Activities for the entire family take place along Mulberry Street, Hester Street and Grand Street, from 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. (midnight on Fridays and Saturdays). The streets are decorated with festive banners and arches in green, white and red, the colors of the Italian flag.

Up to the 1970’s, Ferrara’s Bakery on Grand Street (Little Italy) was THE bakery to stop in for excellent pastries and cookies and to sit at a little marble table and sip some Espresso or a great Italian fruit drink, such as their famous Orangina soda. The shop was all shining wood with polished brass and marble – just like Italy’s café’s. The coffee bar had mirrors in the back that reflected all the colored bottles and brass and copper coffee makers. The waiters wore short white jackets and ties and black pants. It was elegant. Ferrara’s got so big, that the quality went down and the prices went up. Don’t get me wrong, in comparison to those who never had real Italian pastry, it’s still good, but not what it used to be. The shop is worth a visit for it’s aromas and beauty. There’s an on-going “food war” between the bakers and one of the food magazines about making the cannoli fat free etc. They want the shell to be baked instead of the flash fried (which makes the bubbles and crispy texture). The Italian bakers told them they refused because his steady customers would get angry. Now I would have said, “just don’t eat them!”. If you want really good home-made pastry, just walk around the corner to family owned business and you’ll know the difference. Here’s a hint: the shell should be golden, very thin and crispy with little air pockets through the shell. The filling is fresh ricotta with a minimum of sugar. If it’s a hot day and the filling starts melting, it’s fresh. If it’s too sweet, they didn’t use fresh ricotta. If there’s too many chocolate chips, they’re masking the lack of fresh ricotta. Usually when they kill it with sugar, they use fillers. If it has a paste-texture and just plain sweet, you’ve been hoodwinked.

More than 35 of Little Italy's most famous Italian restaurants 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. In addition, there are more than 100 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 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.

If you go, I suggest you take the train, bus or take a cab. You’ll ride around for hours looking for a parking space or pay unthinkable parking prices. If your hotel is in Manhattan, great – leave it at the hotel. If you’re staying in New Jersey, park the car in Hoboken or Weehawken and take the ferry to Manhattan (gorgeous ride), or take the Tubes – you’ll be there in seven minutes. Then you can walk or ride to the feast. Little Italy is off Canal Street and there are stops on both the trains and busses. If you have any questions, e-mail me at KPuzo@insightbb.com. Keep reading though. I have more!

In Los Angeles, the Italian American population has grown with so many ex-New Yorkers that they decided to hold the feast of San Gennaro there too. With the great Italian restaurants and famous chefs residing there, it wasn’t hard to get great food and feast goers to celebrate this saint. Below is a great photo of the feast in L.A.

This 10-day is so beloved by New Yorkers that transplanted to L.A., that New York Italians have recreated the Feast of San Gennaro in Los Angeles. Although it lasts only four days instead of 10 and it's missing the traditional Cannoli Eating Contest, the west coast festival celebrating the venerable patron saint of Naples has plenty of Italian music, food and culture. It also continues the tradition of charitable giving. They benefit various Los Angeles children's organizations.

(Notice the donated money is put in a glass box) San Gennaro was one of those fantastic early Christian martyrs who suffered incomprehensible tortures and survived inexplicable violence under equally fantastic Roman persecution. He was tossed into the flames but did not burn; the ever-resourceful Romans then tried to feed him to wild beasts, but the animals laid down at his feet instead of devouring him. Exhausted and frustrated, the Romans beheaded the guy, but the Christian women saved the blood that ran down from his bereft spinal cord. There still exists a vial of this blood which by miracle, liquifies before an audience of rapt believers in Napoli.

Although there was no such miracle at the Los Angeles Feast of San Gennaro, which is hosted and sponsored by those stalwarts of Italian Hollywood, Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla, the Feast is sponsored by Precious Cheese (thus the possible misconception that this is a cheese festival rather than the traditional saint's day).

The festival's sponsors line up a veritable saints' row of good grub, including pizza, calamari, fried fish, chicken parmigiana, cannoli, calzone, biscotti, meatball sandwiches, sausage sandwiches, and pasta (oh the pasta!). Oh, and yes, Perroni beer and Italian wine.

According to the last feast goers, the calzones didn’t make the photo because they were eaten before they got the chance to photograph them. The pizza dough is filled with ricotta and mozzarella cheese, sprinkled with grated cheese, then deep fried and smothered in tomato sauce. (tomato sauce is optional when walking around a feast). Famous in the (NorthEast, the calzones can be made with the above ingredients and then add ham or sausage or keep it meatless and add cooked spinach or sautéed mushrooms.) Many pizzerias offer the calzones baked instead of fried. Not as great as the dough crispy fried on the outside and light and airy on the inside, but if the stuffing is good, it’s heavenly. They also had succulent meatball sandwiches, chicken parmigiana (with the traditional mozzarella cheese and sprinkled with grated parmigiana, sausage and peppers with onion sandwiches on crusty Italian rolls – all easy to walk around the feast because you can eat them with one hand.

A happy feast-goer expressed: . What more can you ask of fair food?

Precious Cheese was the sponsor: they were handing out string cheese sticks and bufala mozzarella marinated with tomato, basil, and olive oil -- for a price, of course.

(See how the ricotta filling is soft and almost melting?) The shell is fried lightly and has pockets of air. Another feast goer and writer said: My companion was raised in an Italian household and spent most of his lifetime immersed in the Italian culture and cuisine of the Philadelphia area: until this point, he had yet to find a cannoli that really recaptured the East Coast Italian taste. Fear not, though, my Roman friends: the San Gennaro festival got the cannoli down. It was delicious and tasted just like home. By the blood of the saints! Thank Jesus.

L.A.’s feast also had the ravioli and bufalo milk mozzarella served in little balls, deep fried fresh from the vat of oil and baked with a variety of pasta dishes.

Okay readers, if all this feast talk still hasn’t pushed you to one of the coasts, how about Las Vegas? Sure enough, the Italian population has grown with so much Napoli heritage, that they are celebrating with their own Feast of San Gennaro. Here are the details:

September 9, through September 14, 2008

Tuesday Sept. 9th - 4pm - 11pm (Moms Ride FREE!)
Wednesday Sept. 10th - 4pm to 11pm
Thursday Sept. 11th - 4pm to 11pm
Friday Sept. 12th - 4pm to Midnight
Saturday Sept. 13th - 11am to Midnight
Sunday Sept. 14th - 11am to 11pm

The Procession starts at 7 p.m. on Wednesday September 10th, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV featuring the Knights of Columbus Honor Guard, City Dignitaries and Father Dean Casseleggio to give blessing over this years Feast. Don't forget all money donated to San Gennaro goes to the Church.