San Gennaro

I.P.’s San Gennaro festival going strong five decades

By Mike Smollins msmollins@liherald.com

For four days every September, the streets around Sacred Heart Church in Island Park buzz with activity for the village’s Festival of San Gennaro, which has been a fixture for five decades.

The crowds of thousands that throng Long Beach Road for the event’s duration give those who gather in Manhattan’s Little Italy a run for their money, but the true measure of success? How much food is left over.

Even the pandemic couldn’t stop the feast in 2020. Though participants wore masks and practiced social distancing, they still enthusiastically participated in the event and the march.

There was plenty of food and fun during the festivities despite a smaller crowd than past years. In keeping with tradition, the statue of St. Januarius, the festival’s namesake, was paraded through the streets and placed in front of Sacred Heart Church as congregants celebrated.

Opening services for the festival usually include a visit by Bishop John Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre and a parade in which Sacred Heart congregants carry the likeness of St. Januarius around the church, and for the remainder of the event he sits in a shrine in front of the church, watching the happy festival.