Festa Italiana returns for 37th edition at Mount St. Peter Church in New Kensington

Mount St. Peter’s Catholic Church’s Festa Italiana continues Saturday as part of the 37th annual celebration for the New Kensington parish.

Easy conversation, families and outstanding food on Friday showed that it keeps getting better.

Eileen and George Larson, Plum residents since 1965, were married in the church in 1960. Eileen grew up in New Kensington and graduated from Ken Hi in 1955.

They met later in the 1950s when she was a waitress and George, of Montana, was a seasonal forestry employee at Yellowstone National Park.

Both became teachers for the New Kensington-Arnold School District.

“I think this is fantastic,” said Eileen about the festival that has been a part of their lives for 37 years.

It was a friendly crowd where the color of the Italian flag, green, red and white, were popular on the shirts, hats and bibs of people gathered at the numerous food tents.

“All of this is brought together by our faith in Jesus,” said Mgsr. Michael Begolly, parish pastor.

Business was brisk at crowd-pleasing lasagna and cannoli booths as well as those for snow cones and other treats.

The Rick Farinelli Big Band Sounds performed.

The festival continues Saturday with Mass at 4:30 p.m. Saturday , and then food and games resume. The Murphy’s Music Center
Big Band will perform from 7 to 10 p.m.

Tammie Ziccarelli, daughter, Adla, and son, Anderson, were all smiles as they purchased food tickets.

Lilly Williams, 3, of Plum, was lucky at the racing pink pig booth. She selected a stuff animal and, prompted by grandmother Lana Naviglia of New Kensington, handed over a dollar to play the game.

One booth that was surrounded by food and goodies displayed photos starting from 1947 when the church was completed, largely by Italian craftsmen who immigrated to the Alle-Kiski Valley for a better life.

Construction started when their sons were away fighting in World War II, said Begolly.

The festival is a “wonderful opportunity for parishioners and friends of the parish and neighbors to come together,” he said.

“In fact, we have folks who choose this weekend every year when we have our festa to hold their annual family reunion,” Begolly said. “So the family comes from all over the country just come back home here to Mount St. Peter parish and to celebrate both our heritage and as well as the family ties, the friendship, the connection people have made over the years.

”And of course, the added benefit is our homemade Italian food,” he said. “Our signature dish is lasagna, and we have spaghetti and meatballs, polenta — a cornmeal porridge — and all kinds of pastries as well and lots of things for kids too, Italian ice cream welcomed as gelato, snow cones, fried dough, and biscotti,” he said.

Biscotti are Italian almond biscuits.

Chuck Biedka is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chuck at 724-226-4711, cbiedka@tribweb.com or via Twitter @ChuckBiedka.