88th Annual Feast of San Gennaro Kicks Off 11-Day Run Today in Little Italy

The 88th Annual Feast of San Gennaro, New York City's longest-running, biggest and most revered religious outdoor festival, will begin today, September 11 and continue through Sunday, September 21, 2014, The Feast is held annually on the streets of historic Little Italy, the lower Manhattan neighborhood which served as the first home in America for many thousands of Italian immigrants seeking a better life in the early years of the 20th century.

Those early pioneers, many of whom came from Naples, also brought with them their rich customs and religious heritage, including their love and adoration for San Januarius (San Gennaro), the Patron Saint of Naples who was martyred for the faith. The first Feast in New York City was a one-day celebration on September 19, 1926, the Official Feast Day of San Gennaro. The celebrants brought out tables and chairs from their crowded apartments on Mulberry Street, and spent the day eating their favorite Italian delicacies and desserts and washing them down with homemade Italian wines. The event concluded in the evening when they moved down the street and into Most Precious Blood Church on Mulberry Street where they celebrated a Mass in honor of their Patron Saint.

Today, 88 years later, the same traditions continue but the event has now grown into an international celebration that continues for 11 days and is attended by nearly two-million people of all ages who come from countries all across the globe. It has truly become "a "major happening." The Feast is held in an area of Little Italy that encompasses seven blocks along Mulberry Street between Canal and Houston Streets, and four additional blocks on Hester and Grand Streets between Mott and Baxter Streets. More than 200 vendors sell or display their wares in stalls that line both sides of the Feast's 11 city blocks.

New York City's Mayor Bill de Blasio will serve as Grand Marshal of the Feast's Grand Procession on Saturday, September 13, at 2 PM. The Procession will have five parade floats, an authentic gondola wheels, a FIAT convertible with Miss Italia USA and Miss Italia New York, as well as five marching bands, including The Giglio Band, Cathedral HS All Girls Marching Band, Xavier HS Marching Band, the 150-member Elizabeth New Jersey HS Marching Band, the Middleton HS Marching Middies and Little Italy's own Red Mike Festival Band which will be performing from the Figli di San Gennaro float carrying the Statue of Sam Gennaro. Honored guests will include elected officials and show business celebs, including actor/singer Gianni Russo, and David Mazouz, who portrays young Bruce Wayne in "Gotham," a new action-adventure drama series, which premieres on Fox Television on September 22,

The Feast is held 11:30 AM to 11:30 PM Sundays through Thursdays, and 11:30 AM to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. The streets are decorated with festive banners and arches in green, white and red. Restaurants, many of them New York City landmarks, roll out the red carpet for Feast visitors, providing outdoor dining areas and delicious specialty foods and pastries. Some restaurants even have strolling musicians to entertain their customers.

The area's Italian restaurants and cafes obtain special city and state permits that allow them to serve Italian food delicacies, beer and wine in specified outdoor seating areas set up directly in front of their establishments. In addition, vendors operate stalls throughout the Feast selling favorites such as sausage and pepper sandwiches, zeppoles, calzones, cannoli, gelatos, pizzas and pastas. There are also carnival games and rides.

Opening Day (Thursday, September 11), will feature a 9/11 Musical Remembrance Ceremony on the FIAT Performance Stage at 4 PM with singers Patrick Hale and Theresa Sareo. The next day, Friday, Sept 12, the 13th Annual Feast Cannoli Eating Competition, sponsored by Ferrara Bakery and sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eaters, will take place on the stage.

On Friday, Sept. 19 -- the Official Feast day -- there will be a Concelebrated Mass in honor of San Gennaro at 6 PM inside Most Precious Blood Church (109 Mulberry St), the National Shrine of San Gennaro, at 6 PM. Immediately following, at 7 PM, the statue of San Gennaro will be carried from the church for the start oif the Religious Procession through the crowded streets.

There will be nightly musical performances and live radio broadcasts, as well daytime special events, on the FIAT Performance Stage located at the corner of Mott and Grand Streets. Some of the performers include singers Gianni Russo, Jenna Esposito, Vito and The Elegants, Jimmy Alleva, Tre Bella, Johnny Mandolin, Teo, opera singers Justyna Giermola, Melanie Long and Cheryl Warfield, The Emotions, The Classics, Nostalgia, Marco Pisano, Rocco Mesito, Francesca Cavalieri and a special musical presentation, "Experience Sicily with Allison Scola and Villa Patagonia," a delightful presentation about Sicily and a performance by singer Allison Scola and multifaceted guitarist Joe Ravo featuring their original eclectic acoustic pop and traditional Sicilian folk songs.

The two Saturday nights feature three-hour live radio broadcasts from 7 to 10 PM: on Saturday, September 13, WCBS-FM Radio and its on-air personality Joe Causi will broadcast live, and on Saturday, September 20, Cousin Brucie (Bruce Morrow) will originate his Sirius Satellite Radio music program featuring guest artists and celebrities from the stage.

The annual Feast of San Gennaro Blood Drive will be held on the final day, Sunday, September 21, from 11:30 AM to 6:30 PM in the Youth Center of The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral at 268 Mulberry Street. All donors will be given free cannoli courtesy of Mulberry Street's famous. Caffe Palermo.

If all that isn't enough, Ferrara's Café and Bakery is going to try and set the world record by creating a giant cannoli - the biggest one ever made. "I've been told that the largest cannoli on record was 12 - feet long and weighed 300 pounds," says Ernest LePore Ferrara's owner. 'The giant cannoli will be unveiled to the public on Saturday, September 20, at 3PM in front of Ferrara's on Grand Street between Mott and Mulberry Streets.

"The Feast of San Gennaro holds a special place in the hearts of Italians everywhere," says Joseph Mattone, President of the Figli di San Gennaro Board. "It is a festive period of faith and redemption, a time for remembrance and reconciliation, and a time for celebration. The Feast brings Little Italy to the world and the world to Little Italy."

Figli di San Gennaro, Inc., the community-based, not-for-profit charitable organization, distributes its financial support to children and parochial schools throughout the Archdiocese of New York. To date, it has donated more than $1.8 million from the Feasts since 1996 to causes supporting children and education.

In addition to Mr. Mattone, the Figli di San Gennaro Board includes: Vivian Catenaccio, Vice President; The Hon. Anthony Cannataro; John Fratta; The Hon. Josepg G. Golia; Ernest Magliato; Robert Marshal; Vita Sabella and Patricia Valentino.

This year's sponsors include: FIAT, AMTRAK, Peroni, Wanda Maria Designs, Silverleaf Resorts, Sparkling ICE, Power HRG, Miss Italia USA Pageant, Lt. Joseph Petrosino Lodge of the Order of Sons of Italy (OSIA): Media Sponsors: WCBS FM 101.1, 92.3 AMP Radio, Fresh 102.7 FM, KTU, Z100, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, NY Daily News, City Guide, Italian Tribune.

For more information: 212-768-9320 or visit www.sangennaro.org.