Sons of Italy Releases 2004 Festival Directory

Washington - April 5, 2004 - A free directory of 385 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 2004 Italian Festival Directory lists 385 festivals in 29 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 31 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, and are held coast to coast. 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 (81), New Jersey (63), Pennsylvania (49), Illinois (34) and Massachusetts (31). Other states with significant numbers of festivals include California (22), Connecticut (19), Ohio (20) and Rhode Island (12).

The oldest festival is believed to be the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Hammonton, N.J., which this year celebrates its 128th 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 Festival Directory is available Online at the Sons Of Italy Website at:
The National Italian American Foundation
http://www.niaf.org/research/festivals.asp?print=1&
You may want to Bookmark, and include in your Favorite Italian American Places.

To Download & Print:
http://www.osia.org/public/pdf/2004_festival_directory.pdf

For a Printed copy, send a large (9" x 12"), self- addressed envelope
with $1.29 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: kcafiero@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. Deadline for submissions: January 31, 2005.

OSIA has more than 600,000 members and supporters and a network of more than 700 chapters coast to coast. OSIA works at the community, national and international levels 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.

See www.osia.org .
Contact:
Kylie Cafiero
Communications Manager
email: kcafiero@osia.org
voice: 202/547-2900