St. Philip Neri Italian Marketplace Set to Return Next Month!

What do you call hundreds of volunteers coming together to bring a 25-year tradition of community fun and fellowship to St. Philip Neri? In the words of a famous song, “that’s amore!” Indeed, it is a great love of our parish and local community that inspires our Italian Festival each year. When the pandemic forced the cancellation of last year’s event, people across the Fort Mill-Rock Hill-Charlotte area greatly missed this beloved gathering. Now, we are pleased to announce that the event will return next month with an adapted event format in compliance with current health guidelines.

In the past, the St. Philip Neri Italian Festival has been a multi-faceted event spanning three days, providing food, musical entertainment, a children’s parade, and fun zone, festival games, the “Italian Idol” singing competition, and more.

While the festival planning committee looks forward to soon returning to a larger community gathering, this year’s offering will be scaled down to accommodate pandemic-related regulations. This change is reflected in the 2021 event name, Italian Marketplace.

“Our primary focus this year will be what has always been the heart of our festival - the wonderful food that we provide,” says Italian Marketplace chairperson Kathy Burden. “We’ll also be having local artisans and vendors to share their wares. This is a great way for parishioners and other members of the community to showcase their talents and businesses.”

On Friday evening, May 14 from 5 to 8 p.m., and Saturday, May 15 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., vendors will be set up outside on the parish grounds. There will not be on-site dining, but food will be available for carryout — so everyone who was missing their meatballs and cannoli last year will surely be pleased!

“The food is just amazing,” says planning committee member Jim Funk. “It’s all essentially handmade, so that’s the draw. We are retaining our model for the food this year, so we have big groups of parishioners on the ‘Meatball Madness’ and the sausage team, and we have defined recipes for ziti and lasagna. We’ve been told year after year that the legacy of the festival is that people love the food. And it’s very reasonably priced, so that’s the best thing. The meatball and sausage subs are to die for!”

Each year, the Italian Festival is a testament to the strong sense of community and stewardship here at St. Philip Neri, as parishioners volunteer to fill an incredible 700 shifts! While fewer people will be needed to assist with the smaller 2021 event, our planning committee has gone above and beyond to bring a form of this parish tradition back. An entire subcommittee on health and safety, chaired by Diane Cooper and Diane Maloney, was established to ensure that the Italian Marketplace follows all current CDC and South Carolina Health Department protocols. Two other parishioners working behind the scenes on event logistics are Kathy Burden’s adult daughters, Grace and Diana. Their continued involvement in this St. Philip Neri tradition is a great example of the lasting impact this event has on families in our parish and community.

“My best memories of the festival are watching my two children run around in the games in the 1990s, and then being teenagers and volunteering at the festival,” Kathy says. “This year, they are helping me coordinate it.”

As always, funds raised through the purchase of food at the Italian Marketplace will support the future growth and expansion of St. Philip Neri, with a portion of proceeds going back into the community. We invite everyone to come out next month and check out our local vendors — and of course, don’t forget to mangia, mangia, mangia!

“This is really our only annual opportunity to celebrate the community, and it’s a celebration that is full of food and music and fellowship,” Jim says. “For St. Philip Neri, it’s an opportunity to celebrate our own community and to also expose the broader community to who we are and what we do.”

The Italian Marketplace will take place on the evening of Friday, May 14, from 5 to 8 p.m. and during the day on Saturday, May 15, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information on the festival or volunteering to help with this event, visit the website at https://spnitalianfestival.com/ — or the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/st.philipneriitalianfestival. You may also email Kathy Burden at spnitalianfestival@gmail.com.

The community enjoys fun, food and fellowship at the Italian Festival.

The authentic, traditional Italian cuisine is always the biggest draw for this annual event.