This Friday marks the start of the three day festival, Saint Anthony’s Feast, in the North End. As you might know, the North End has feasts and festivals all summer long, but Saint Anthony’s is definietly the biggest and also happens to be a personal favorite of mine. Last year I attended the feast with my family and celebrated my (37.5%) Italian-ness by eating a cannoli on Endicott street. Even if you aren’t Italian, or a canoli -lover like me you’ll definitely still enjoy the festival – but come on, who doesn’t love cannolis??
The Feast is a very lively event, drawing huge crowds that cover the historic streets of the North End. Hundreds of food vendors line the sidewalks serving every Italian plate you could think of; from caprese salads, to sausages, to lasagna, to aranchini. Pizza, calzones, calamari, ceci, torrone, cookies, pastries, and more. National Geographic wasn’t kidding when they called it “The Feast of all Feasts”. Once you’re full of Italian cooking you can stroll the streets listening to live musical performances or watch the giant statue of Saint Anthony be carried through the streets in an even giant-er parade. Experience food and beverage tastings, dancing, games, and crafts for kids.
The best part about the celebration is that a lot of North end restaurants that are typically crowded (think: Mikes Pasteries, Pizzeria Regina) have stands where you can get their famous food without waiting in an endless line. Did you say Mike’s Pastries without a line??? I know right, unheard of.
I also really like going to The Feast because the atmosphere
is so upbeat and the crowd is so fun. Even though I’m only like (almost) half
Italian, its nice to be around a group of people who are all part of a similar history
and are celebrating a common heritage. Above everything, I enjoy being surrounded
by others who share my love of c̶a̶r̶b̶s̶ ̶
Italian food. So, if this post has convinced you to go, then the only remaining tough
choice is deciding what to eat.
For a full schedule of the weekends events and a brief history of Saint Anthony’s Feast click here.
