Friday, August 14, 2009

The Feast of the Assumption



Every year, the Little Italy neighborhood near the dental school celebrates the Catholic holiday of the Feast of the Assumption, which, after some research (I mean, a little trip to Wikipedia), is to commemorate the assumption of the Virgin Mary into Heaven.

The road through Little Italy shuts down for four days to celebrate with a carnival, live music, lots of people from all around the area, fireworks, and food. Lots and lots of food (why else would they have called it a Feast?). It centers around the Holy Rosary Catholic church (seen above) in Little Italy. What's really funny is that the church pretty much turns it's basement and the sidewalk around it into a casino to raise money. I guess gambling is alright as long as it's done at the church.

Our friends, the Cowdens, invited us to go to the Feast tonight with their family. It was definitely fun. Most of the event seemed to involve walking around a smally street full of people, and looking at all the different food booths and trying what looks good. It's called the Feast of the Assumption, but it really should be called something like an Italian new year, since, like I said, is in Little Italy and celebrates every italian. It was interesting to see what all the hub-bub was about. We didn't see the procession (which is the main religious part of the holiday) or the fireworks, but we had a good time eating some gnocchi and gellato. Here's a few pictures:

Eating gnocchi and sharing a laugh:

The crowd:

Some of the live entertainment:

1 comment:

Jason said...

What is a "smally street?" That sounds like a total blast!