Saint Anthony's Feast in North End Starts Tonight

Approaching nearly a century of feasting, celebration, and tradition, the North End's iconic Saint Anthony's Feast will overtakes Endicott, Thacher and North Margin Streets as it marks its 97th year this weekend.

This year's celebration kicks off with an opening ceremony Friday night, 7 p.m., with the blessing of the statue of Saint Anthony, which is then carried to the outdoor chapel and paraded through the streets, accompanied by Italian Marching Bands.

For the rest of the weekend, the festival showcases Italian musicians and chefs and hosts religious ceremonies. On Sunday, the grand procession of the Statue of Saint Anthony begins, as it is carried through the streets for ten hours, accompanies by street bands, drum and bugle corps, school marching bands, and more.

The festivities end on a more solemn note Monday, which begins with the procession of Santa Lucia, and ends with a candlelight vigil.

A full list of events and times can be found here. It also has helpful suggestions on ground transportation, for those coming from outside the North End.

The annual event is hosted by the non-profit San Antonio Di Padova Da Montefalcione Inc., a longrunning North End religious and cultural group.

A quick primer on the festival, for the uninitiated, is on its site:

"Begun in 1919, by Italian immigrants from the small town of Montefalcione in Avellino, Saint Anthony’s Feast has become the largest Italian Religious Festival in New England. Named the 'Feast of all Feasts' by National Geographic Magazine, this authentic Italian street festival has it all for people of every age: parades, strolling singers, live entertainment, contests and religious services are held daily."

>> Photo of Saint Anthony taken in 2009 by Tiziano Luccarelli, via Flickr/Creative Commons