food festivals

The ultimate NYC Italian celebration is officially here. The yearly, massive Feast of San Gennaro is planting its roots in Manhattan for ten whole days, from September 15 through September 25.

The feast is coming back to the city for its 96th edition, and it will introduce New Yorkers to authentic Italian flair through food and culture. Taking over Little Italy’s Mulberry Street, the Feast celebrates the life of San Gennaro of Naples, who was both a bishop and a martyr, as well as the Neapolitan community of Manhattan, who immigrated to the US decades ago together with their Italian traditions.

In an authentic Italian fashion, food will be central to the Feast. A wide selection of vendors will flock to Little Italy to delight visitors with Italian delicacies, from Sicilian cannoli to real Neapolitan pizza. Foodies will get the chance to taste chicken and meatball parms from the oldest cheese shop in the US, dubbed Alleva Dairy, while Roll Up will be ready to serve its deep-fried Italian egg rolls. There will be plenty of cannoli to satisfy your sweet tooth too, and Caffè Palermo will be offering fried pastries as well.

Plenty of entertainment is slated to make this year’s feast memorable. Of course, some of it will be food-related. The 24th annual cannoli eating contest takes place on September 16, where participants will fight to the last pastry to win the title. If you can’t make it to this food eating contest, do not fret—there will be many more. On September 21, from 1–2:30 pm, the 3rd annual zeppole eating contest will take place, and the brave foodies who are interested in participating can sign up by sending an email to this address. Two days later, on September 23 from 1–2:30 pm, pizza fans will be able to gather around the 2nd annual pizza eating contest, while the last day of the festival will culminate with the 5th annual meatball eating contest at 1 pm (you can sign up here to participate in either contest).

Live music, parades, and celebrations are in order for the next Feast days as well. On September 17, the Grand Procession will entertain the audience from 2–4 pm, featuring amazing floats, antique cars, and celebrities. The iconic statue of San Gennaro will be brought out and paraded as well, and the Red Mike Festival Band will provide upbeat musical entertainment to the whole procession. Grand Marshall and former NASA Astronaut Michael J. Massimino will be present, and Mayor Eric Adams will appear as Honorary Grand Marshall. The…