For the next 10 days, the stretch of 18th Avenue from 68th to 75th Streets in Bensonhurst will transform for the 51st annual Santa Rosalia Feast, a tradition that blends Italian roots with Brooklyn pride. The festival kicked off Thursday, Aug. 14, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 24.
This year’s Grand Marshal is Danielle Caminiti, a Brooklyn resident, attorney and culinary entrepreneur.
“Being chosen as Grand Marshal at the Santa Rosalia Feast is an incredible honor,” Caminiti said in a statement. “This celebration represents the heart of our Italian-American heritage, and I’m proud to be part of keeping that tradition alive here in Brooklyn.”
A longtime attorney, Caminiti shifted her focus to cooking during the COVID-19 pandemic, turning a hobby into a culinary brand. She published the cookbook “From Courtroom to Cucina” in 2021 and runs the platform “Have U Covered in the Kitchen.”
But the feast itself is rooted in much older traditions, dating back to 1624 in Palermo, Sicily, during a plague. It commemorates the parading of Santa Rosalia’s relics through the city streets during her funeral. The saint is credited with helping end the 1624 plague, and her blessings were sought again during the pandemic.
“Santa Rosalia appeared to a villager and said, ‘Come find me where I’m buried and parade me through the streets,’” organizer Angelo Timoneri told Brooklyn Paper. “They did that and the plague went away.”
“Every year at this time, we celebrate that miracle she did,” Timoneri added.
In Bensonhurst, the annual feast blends that deep-rooted tradition with a neighborhood street-fair atmosphere. Timoneri said live bands perform every night, carnival rides and games line the avenue, and the food options span cultures, with Greek, Spanish and, of course, Italian vendors.
“It’s very family-oriented,” Timoneri said. “We hire live bands that perform every night on stage — there are games, rides for all ages, for little kids and for teenagers. There’s food for every walk of life. We encourage families to come with their children.”
Among the highlights of the festival is the men’s and women’s cannoli-eating contest on Aug. 22, sponsored by Robert DeFalco Realty, Il Colosseo Ristorante and Villabate Alba. Another is the procession and honoring of Santa Rosalia on Aug. 24 at 2 p.m., followed by mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on 15th Avenue.
