La Festa Italiana ~ Jersey City, NJ

Ciao Tutti!

I hope you are enjoying Anthony On The Ave and my experiences with feasts, festivals and celebrations!

Despite the rain, I decided to drive up to Jersey City on the opening night of La Festa Italiana. The feast organizers were kind enough to provide updates on social media to inform everybody that the feast was still on. As soon as I got there at around 7pm, the rain was letting up and the band was playing. 

This particular feast began in 1902 and is located in Downtown Jersey City on 6th and Brunswick Streets. The proceeds from the feast support Holy Rosary Church. Holy Rosary Church was founded in 1885 by Italian immigrants who moved into Jersey City at that time. The feast is also near St. Anthony of Padua Church, which began as an ethnic Polish parish. 

Once I got to the feast, I walked up and down the street to scope it all out, while the band “The Togas” (yes they were all wearing togas) played. I also made visits to both churches to take in their magnificent decor and say a few prayers. Before I ordered my typical sausage and pepper sandwich, I walked up and down the street. After I had visited the beautiful Holy Rosary Church, I noticed people walking behind the church. What was back there? Bathrooms? Parking? The exit? No. It was the entrance to the other side of the feast called Caffe Italiano. More on this later.

While not as big as other feasts I have attended, particularly in comparable cities, such as Hoboken, La Festa Italiana had all the staples of an Italian feast. It has bands every night, hand-made zeppole, rice balls, sausage and peppers and cheesesteak sandwiches, gelato, cannoli and games. It also has tents of booze - not only beer and wine. The feast also raises money through hourly 50/50s and a Super 50/50 drawing on the last night of the feast (Sunday). On Sunday, August 9, Holy Mass will be celebrated at 11:30 am, followed by the procession with statues of Our Lady of the Assumption and Saint Rocco. 

Following my scoping out of the feast, I ordered - you guessed it - a sausage and pepper sandwich. My takeaway: It was okay. Not on my favorite type of roll and the peppers could have been cooked a bit longer for my liking. But, to each his or her own. By the way, the best roll I’ve had in all my feast attendance throughout my life was a few weeks ago at the St. Ann Feast in Hoboken. I’m not sure any other feast can live up to that roll. But, we’ll see.

After I gulped down the sandwich, I had to go back behind the church based on what I had seen earlier. There was Sinatra style music blasting, another bar, tables and chairs, espresso, cappuccino and a tent full of home baked goods. I’m talking pastries, more cannoli and something I have not had in a few decades - homemade pistachio cake. Move over cannoli and zeppole - I went after that cake like nobody’s business. If you watched my short video on Instagram, you heard my comment about my Uncle Henry (rest his soul) who used to make this exact cake. For whatever reason, he called it the “Watergate Coverup Cake.” 

After my reintroduction to pistachio cake, my night was winding down. I had something else I’ve never seen at an Italian feast before - peaches and wine. The wine was okay, but the concept is amazing. As I was exiting, I tried to record an interview with some feast attendees. They wouldn’t allow me to record and I respect that. My takeaway from our discussion was that at least two of them were Jersey City natives and they go to the feast every year. They did acknowledge that there were less people due to the weather, but expect more tonight and throughout the weekend. They love the feast and they love their city and to me, that is special.

The feast is open tonight, tomorrow and over the weekend. Check out their schedule and other offerings at the link I provided above. 

In closing, my takeaway is that the people who run this feast take the time to bake, cook, organize and share to support their beautiful church and extend this amazing tradition. You can see up front the dedication and time that they put into working this feast. You can also see how the people - particularly the locals - appreciate and continue to support the feast. I think this feast will go for another 124 years and beyond. 

Keep the tradition alive!

Buona Festa!