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Sons of Italy Releases 2008 Festival Directory
Press
Contact: Kylie Cafiero, (202) 547-2900 kcafiero@osia.org
WASHINGTON,
D.C. - February 26, 2008 A
free directory of nearly 450
annual Italian American festivals
in the United States is now available
through the Order Sons of Italy
in America (OSIA), the biggest
and oldest national organization
for men and women of Italian
heritage in the United States.
The Sons of Italy 2008 Italian
Festival Directory lists 448
festivals in 35 states and the District of Columbia that are held
between February and December annually. The directory supplies each
festival’s name, month it is held,
city, state and contact information.
It is 43 pages long and is based on information about festivals held
by Sons of Italy chapters as well as on the research of Paul Porcelli,
an expert on Italian American festivals.
The early Italian immigrants
brought the custom of honoring
saints with outdoor ceremonies to America more than 100 years ago.
The festivals vary in size and character. Some consist of only the
saint’s
statue, a band and a procession, while others are colossal celebrations that last several days and include symphonic bands, entertainers, food stands, rides and fireworks. A familiar sight at most festivals is the saint’s statue covered with money or jewelry, which is later donated to the local church or saint’s
society.
The five states with the most festivals are: New York (91); New Jersey (70); Pennsylvania (66); Illinois (33); and Massachusetts (32). Other states with significant numbers of festivals include California (30), Ohio (22), Connecticut (22) and Rhode Island (13).
Italian festivals are held coast to coast, including Maine, Alabama, Wisconsin, Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, Nevada, Washington State and Texas. [See state-by-state
tally below.]
According to Porcelli, the oldest festival is believed to be the Feast of Our
Lady of Mount Carmel in Hammonton, N.J., which this year celebrates its 133rd
anniversary in July. The biggest festival is the Feast of San Gennaro held every
September in New York City, which attracts about one million people. Other large
festivals are in Milwaukee (“Festa Italiana” in July) and Clarksburg,
W.V. (the Italian Heritage Festival in August).
Some festivals include such traditional events as the Flight of the Angels (the Feast of the Madonna del Soccorso di Sciacca in Boston, in August; the Feast of Our Lady of Laurentana in Berwyn, Ill., in September), the Greased Pole Contest (the Feast of St. Peter in Gloucester, Mass., in June; the Feast of Saint Rocco in Malden, Mass., in August), and the Dance of the Lily, in which about 100 men carry a five-ton platform through the streets for hours (in Brooklyn, East Harlem and Massapequa, N.Y., in June and July).
The Sons of Italy directory is free. To download a copy of the report Click Here.
For a printed copy, send a large (9” x 12”), self-addressed envelope with $2.05
in stamps on it to:
Sons of Italy Festival Directory
219 E Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
Sorry. No telephone or fax orders.
To add your festival to next year’s directory, please contact OSIA headquarters
in Washington by mail at the above address or by fax (202/547-1492) or e-mail: nationaloffice@osia.org. No telephone calls, please.
Send the name of the festival, month held, city, state and a contact person or organization with a telephone number and/or email address. Deadline for submissions: December 31, 2008.
Established in 1905, OSIA works at the community, national and international
level to promote the heritage and culture of an estimated 26 million Italian
Americans, the nation’s fifth largest ethnic group, according to the U.S. Census
Bureau.
2008 ITALIAN FESTIVAL DIRECTORY
Compiled by the Order Sons of Italy in America, Washington, DC
STATE-BY-STATE TALLY
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New
York
New
Jersey
Pennsylvania
Illinois
Massachusetts
California
Connecticut
Ohio
Rhode Island
Florida
Texas
Maryland
Colorado
Missouri
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Alabama
Delaware
Kentucky
Virginia
Washington State
Louisiana
Nebraska
Nevada
Oregon
District of Columbia
Hawaii
Idaho
Indiana
Iowa
Maine
Michigan
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Tennessee
Utah
TOTAL:
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91
70
66
33
32
30
22
22
13
7
7
5
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
448
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