Carnival rides, Italian food draw crowds to Feast of St. Rocco in Glen Cove
Tina Pemberton of Glen Cove serves food at the Feast of St. Rocco in Glen Cove on Saturday. Credit: Rick Kopstein
The comforting aroma of meatballs simmering in marinara sauce and the sizzle of sausages and peppers on a grill top drew a crowd to Glen Cove on Saturday, where the annual Feast of St. Rocco continued for a third day.
A line snaked out of a hall at the Church of St. Rocco dubbed the “pasta pavilion,” where a crew of indefatigable Italian grandmothers — the nonnas — served heaping plates of eggplant Parmesan, tripe, pasta and more.
“All of us nonnas get together and do the prep. We roll the meatballs, we cut the tripe, we bread the chicken cutlets,” said Kathy DiSimone, 74, of Glen Cove, as she welcomed hungry festivalgoers inside. “It’s just really a labor of love. Giving back to the parish, thanking God for his blessings, and making sure people leave here with full bellies and big smiles.”
Amanda Brennan and her son Jack, 7, of Bayville, collect the prize that Jack won from LaShawn Bates, of Jamaica, Queens, at The Feast of St. Rocco in Glen Cove on Saturday. Credit: Rick Kopstein
The four-day festival, now in its 49th year, began Thursday and includes a street fair and carnival rides and games. The nonnas’ menu has earned the nickname “The Best Feast in the East,” and draws an estimated 150,000 people to the event, a fundraiser for the Catholic church.
“It’s an Italian feast with that flair of family, fun and of course, the faith,” said Angie Colangelo, 59, who has coordinated the festival for the past decade. “We’re all family for the week here.”
The festival was a must for 23-year-old Breanna Lopez of Levittown, who brought a friend visiting from Syracuse for the weekend and said she simply had to try Italian food on Long Island.
“There’s a lot of Italians here, and the food is just so good,” Lopez said.
Her boyfriend, Peter Maino, 25, of Franklin Square, concurred. “I’m always a little skeptical to go out, because it can’t be as good as Nonna’s cooking,” he said. This, he said, was on par.
Outside, Chari and Joe Baker, of Merrick, dined al fresco at a table where basil plants growing in old tomato cans served as centerpieces.
“This is our Little Italy,” Chari Baker, 71, said. “There’s a wonderful sense of community here.”
Nearby, church bells rang out before an afternoon Mass as children whooshed by on carnival rides and cheered for a Taylor Swift tribute concert in the garden.
Jackie Trotta, 65, said everyone in her neighborhood looks forward to the tradition. This year, she was sharing the tradition with her 3-year-old granddaughter Hailey for the first time.
“Our whole block is here,” she said. “They work hard, they love their church, they do it for God.”
Trotta, who typically volunteers at the event, was sidelined this year due to a recent knee replacement surgery — an extra reason to pray to St. Rocco, a French saint said to have possessed the gift of healing and is considered a protector against diseases.
The feast continues Sunday with a morning Mass and procession, during which a statue of St. Rocco is taken through the neighborhood and residents pin money and jewelry on the statue as offerings.
“People who need to have something answered, or something in their life that’s challenging, they relinquish all that spirit for their prayers to be answered,” Colangelo said. “It’s emotional.”
Sunday’s schedule includes a Mass at 10:15 a.m. and the procession at 11:30 a.m. followed by the festival from 2 to 9 p.m. For more information, call 516-676-2482.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
