In Williamsburg, it's Giglio time again!
If you happen to live anywhere near the intersection of North 8th and Havemeyer streets in Williamsburg, then you know what that means: Love it or hate it, the two-week street festival put on each year by Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church to honor its patron saint is nearly here.
The high points of this celebration, called the Feast of the Giglio, are the three days (this year it's July 13, 17 and 20) when roughly 125 of the parish's strongest men lift a five-ton, 80-foot tower and heave it to-and-fro and back-and-forth on Havemeyer, dancing to the Giglio anthem and turning the structure according to commands barked out in a centuries-old Italian dialect born in the tiny town of Nola. The feast is set to run this year from Wed. July 9 – Sunday July 20.
The hulking aluminum Giglio frame has been sitting on the roof of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel church for a few weeks now. Tinsel flower ornaments have been hoisted up atop the streetlights. This morning, the twirling strawberry ride was spotted on N. 8th, just waiting for the calliope music and hot sausage trucks to arrive.
Last summer we were obsessed with the feast. We studied it. We filmed it. We photographed it. We researched its Sicilian roots and marched along with the Giglio boys as they heaved and danced a huge, towering monument to St. Paulinus down the street on a sweltering 100+ degree day last July. See the fruits of those labors here:
Feast of Faith in Williamsburg: Story
Religion, food collide in the streets: Photos
If you haven’t seen this feast in action, you should. Before the tall glass condo army chases it out of town.
-- Lauren Johnston
