Boston’s North End is filled with good eats, but this past weekend a quick bite turned into a full-blown neighborhood feast.
The San Gennaro Feast took over Paul Revere Mall from Sept. 5–7, transforming the historic plaza into a side street of Italy and making the perfect festive foodie weekend.
San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples, Italy, and Little Italy, New York, isn’t just a figurehead of the feast; a literal golden statue of his head was displayed at the center of the festivities. The Mall was lined with vendors selling Italian morsels such as arancini, as well as a variety of pastries. The Mall also housed a beer garden, fresh fruit stands, and an espresso martini bar.
“Going Bananas,” a grocery store located on Salem Street in the North End, operated a fresh fruit stand at the Mall. David Bega manned the fruit stand for the family-operated grocery store, which has served North End natives for 35 years. According to Bega, they make a point of participating in the San Gennaro Feast every year.
“This [festival] is more cozy, relaxed, and peaceful,” Bega said. “This [event] is family and friends who have been doing this for a long time.”
The array of foods isn’t solely to build community; the Feast also serves a good cause, with all proceeds being donated to autism awareness. One event founder, Frank DePasquale, owner of several ventures in the restaurant industry, helped launch the San Gennaro Feast specifically to generate funds for autism research. This year, DePasquale and the other founders are working with Autism Eats and A Voice for Mikey.
“We’re supporting a great cause,” DePasquale said.
At the San Gennaro Feast, no good meal goes without dessert. This year’s cherry on top was performances from “American Idol” winner Ruben Studdard, as well as Al McKay, songwriter, guitarist, and former member of Earth, Wind & Fire.
Miami Sound Revue, a cover band of Miami Sound Machine, performed on the final day of the Feast to a crowd of enthusiastic patrons—dancing and eating ensued, and in some cases, both at the same time.
Terry Barrett told the Beacon that the Feast is their preferred food festival: “[The] local restaurants make the food, it has better entertainment, and it’s more special to the North End. Everything about it is better because it’s put on by the restaurants.”
DePasquale made it clear that, while the residents of the North End make a festivity like this possible, anyone can pull up a chair at the Feast.
“This is the greatest Italian community in the country,” DePasquale said. “I don’t believe it could ever be matched. Not even in Italy.”
