Saturday, September 19, 2026

At the opening night of the Feast of San Gennaro

Photos and text by Stacie Joy 

The Feast of San Gennaro returned to Little Italy on Thursday for its annual run of sausage and peppers, fried everything, carnival rides, processions and packed streets. 

On opening night of this 100th edition, we spotted plenty of old-timers, gold jewelry, stogies, a gentleman in a fedora offering dinner and wine, and the Feast's religious procession making its way through the crowd. Holy water flowed freely — I received two blessings! 

There was plenty of deep-fried experimentation, too. Friends conducted an informal survey of the deep-fried rainbow cookies on offer, while this year's lineup also includes deep-fried PB&J Uncrustables. 

And then there was the Ferris wheel, creaking and groaning above the festivities. I politely declined the invitation to take a ride. 

Opening night was crowded, loud, raucous and expensive — in other words, the Feast of San Gennaro.

We already look forward to doing it all again next year. (The festival runs through Sept. 27, so you have time.)
Among the familiar faces was Lucy the Sausage Queen, who clarified an important Feast fact: Despite several booths bearing the Lucy's name, her stand is the one in the middle of the festivities — easy enough to identify by Lucy herself, stationed near the peppers and keeping an eye on the cash.

Her longtime slogan still stands: "Lucy’s hot, Lucy's sweet, Lucy's sausage can’t be beat!"

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks Stacie - nice recap and pictures - plus two blessings! Can't go wrong !

VH McKenzie said...

Great pics, Stacie!

Anonymous said...

I can almost smell that Italian sausage cooking on the grill ....Mmmmmm!!

Jane /katinka said...

Loved your pics ❣️and reviews , Great Energy

Anonymous said...

My honey just had Lucys sausage w peppers n onions which he has every year and even though we went today Monday around lunch time there was the familiar line for Lucys but its worth it! I had the cannoli filled cronut at Ferrara’s and the energy was positive and the feast always a genuinely entertaining good time.

Anonymous said...

The very worst of our culture. I’m embarrassed to say I’m Italian.