Wilmington's Italian Festival celebrates 50 years, but its roots go back to the 1920s
St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church, the parish on the west end of Wilmington that helped tie Italian Americans in Delaware into one large community, is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
It's also the 50th anniversary of St. Anthony's Italian Festival, an eight-day celebration of Italian American culture and heritage that covers six city blocks, has hundreds of volunteers each night, and is considered one of the state's top tourist attractions.
The festivities, with attendance speculated at 350,000 people at the height of its popularity (today it's more like 60,000 to 65,000 attendees), begin on Sunday, June 9, and run through Sunday, June 16. Proceeds benefit St. Anthony of Padua Grade School.
The theme has never really been "What are we going to do?" but rather "Who are we going to see?"
Festa Italiana — a Delaware rite of summer with its five cafes, concession booths, carnival rides, and red, white, and green pennants decorating the church grounds around Ninth and Du Pont streets — has roots that, like the church, go back almost a century.
How did it start?
According to News Journal archives, Italian immigrants first arrived in northern Delaware in the 1880s.
In 1924, the Rev. J. Francis Tucker, an Irish-American Wilmington priest who graduated from Salesiasum School, studied in Rome and could speak Italian, was tasked with building St. Anthony's church for the Italian community which at that time numbered about 4,200.
As St. Anthony's developed, Tucker, the first American-born Oblate of St. Francis de Sales, served as the church's pastor and knew the church, which celebrated its first Mass in 1926, needed money to survive.
He decided an Il Carnevale would be the ideal way of "extracting money in a painless manner from people afraid to part with it in any other way."
A carnival supporting the church began in June 1925 and 3,000 people came to listen to accordion music, the Salesianum orchestra, and watch an interpretation of a Venetian dance.
When did it grow?
By June 28, 1928, thousands were visiting booths and games and even a fish pond on the church grounds, according to News Journal archives. Highlights of the carnival were a popularity contest between altar boys and choir girls of the parish and spaghetti dinners.
Top prizes at the two-day event, which don't sound much like prizes to modern ears, were "a ton of coal" and "Italian fancy work."
By 1933, Tucker, a larger-than-life figure known for his good humor and revered for his organizational skills, was ready for a bigger and better carnival. He asked Joseph Errigo, a Wilmington lawyer and young active parishioner, to chair a committee and expand the events.
Errigo, in charge of the weeklong event held from Aug. 5 to Aug. 12, had string bands perform, and other entertainment including a palm reader; Bart Strazzella, a world-famous sword swallower; a fire eater, and a strong man. Spaghetti or ravioli dinners were held each evening in the church hall. Pony rides, bocce, and bingo were part of the fun.
In 1934, the carnival, held then in late July through early August, closed at midnight. The prizes became much better than coal. A Pontiac Eight sedan was awarded and the popularity contest winner received a free round-trip to Italy, all expenses paid.
Other prizes included a trip to Chicago's World's Fair and Atlantic City or Washington. Spaghetti and refreshments were served from 5 to 9 p.m. and then vaudeville and cabaret acts took over.
The next year, the carnival had a merry-go-round and Ferris wheel, and performances by Jo-Jo, the diving dog, clowns, and the Immediato Brothers, an acrobatic trio who became Wilmington's popular Three Little Bakers.
The carnival took different forms as the years passed and lasted anywhere between one to two weeks. It usually was held during St. Anthony's feast day, June 13.
Tucker left St. Anthony's in 1949 and later became chaplain to Prince Rainier of Monaco. Rainier came to Wilmington and St. Anthony's in 1956 for a Jubilee Mass honoring Tucker's 50th anniversary of his religious profession and his 67th birthday. Tucker returned the favor and attended the ceremony when the Prince married Hollywood actress Grace Kelly.
The carnival continued after Tucker's departure, became more elaborate, and attracted even more people. By Aug. 4, 1957, more than 10,000 spaghetti and ravioli dinners were served during the then two-week carnival.
All the food was "prepared by the older women of the parish," according to News Journal archives.
With numbers down, a revival was needed
Attendance began to drop at the carnival by the early 1970s. The Rev. Roberto Balducelli, a popular priest who had been at the church since 1946 and became pastor in 1959, brainstormed ways to revive it and develop a renewed interest in Italian culture.
He said the 1974 festival should be modeled after la festa patronale, the patron saints' feasts traditionally held in Italian villages. He also wanted the festivities to be seen as a homecoming for those who had moved away and wanted to return to their Delaware roots and connect with friends. Advertisements in 1974 referred to it as St. Anthony's Carnivale.
The following year, the event now called St. Anthony's Italian Festival was breaking attendance records.
President Joe Biden, when he served as a Delaware senator and later as vice president, was a longtime friend of Balducelli, who died in 2013. Biden often visited the Italian festival with family members, especially during the last day, which features the Procession of Saints parade.
Entertainment over the years
Hugo Zacchini, the Human Projectile, awed visitors in 1985 when he flew over their heads and landed in a net. Al Alberts Showcase Revue was there in 1986. The Flying Wallendas aerial act performed in 1990, as did the U.S. Navy Band.
Other entertainers included strolling accordionists, juggling mimes, Italian dance groups, school bands, magicians, and balloon artists. String bands from South Philadelphia, rock groups, and local acts like Jellyroll, the late Steve Silicato and Al Santoro, and the Hi-Liters also returned year after year.
This year, the festival has three stages for entertainers and the midway has a mix of carnival and kiddie rides.
Was the festival ever canceled?
Rain delays and washouts have happened due to inclement weather. But in 1940, Father Tucker announced that the carnival would not be held that year because of protests about work, labor and other activities on Sunday. The priest said pressure from groups "invoking the state's Blue Laws relating to games of chance is responsible for this decision."
In 2020, St. Anthony's canceled the festival due to the pandemic. The carnival atmosphere was again a no-go in 2021, but the church offered take-out food for four days. The Procession of Saints parade was canceled in 2020 and 2021.
What has changed?
The fireworks long fizzled and there's now a $7 single-day admission cost plus an additional fee when paying online. Children under 16 and seniors over 61 are admitted for free. The Italian Festival is an almost exclusively cashless event and accepts all major credit cards. There will be an on-site booth where you can purchase Festival Gift Cards with cash in increments of $25 and $50.
Since 2010, La Casa Pasta and the Chesapeake Inn, restaurants owned by the Martuscelli Restaurant Group, have taken over making and selling pasta in the church's Ballad Room. They offer offering dine-in and take-out options.
Anthony Albence, a parish trustee and fourth-generation parishioner, told the Catholic Forum the festival can now attract 5,000 to 12,000 people each night.
What's coming back and what's new?
Fusco's Water Ice is returning to the festival, its first appearance in more than 40 years, says Fusco's owner Joe Staffieri. The Wilmington water ice institution was born in 1957 in Little Italy, just a few blocks from St. Anthony's church.
Staffieri also plans to sell tomato pies made by Nick Vouras, owner of Nick's Pizza near Prices Corner. Vouras also has a connection to St. Anthony's. His family owns Wilmington's Kozy Korner diner on Union Street, another church neighbor. Little Italy neighborhood favorite Bernie’s Water Ice also returns with a stand in the Scott Street vendor area.
The Tumolo family, owners of Café Riviera and La Pizzeria Metro, will headline the Antonian cafe. They'll be offering new items from their Pizzeria Pronto woodfired oven.
The Antonian Cafe will also feature longtime local chef and former Union City Grille owner Matthew Curtis, winner of Little Italy’s meatball and lasagna contest. Curtis will make Sunday gravy, pasta alla vodka, eggplant Parmesan, chicken Parmesan, broccoli rabe, long hots, and other traditional fare.
Curtis said he and the Tumolo will be "stepping up the variety, portions, and quality this year, and plans are in the works for some specialty nights.
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“With our decades of experience, we want to entice the guests with freshly prepared ingredients and take them back to the foundations of classic Italian cuisine," he said.
Chef Giuseppe Furio of Trattoria di Napoli also is handcrafting Italian cuisine
Food trucks selling funnel cakes, gelato, and doughnuts have been added to the five cafes and various bars offer food and drinks.
When is the festival open?
Sunday, June 9 from 4 to 10:30 p.m.; Monday, June 10, through Friday, June 15, from 6 to 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, June 15 from 4 to 10:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 16 from 2 to 6 p.m. (no rides or games on closing day).
On June 16, a Mass in Italian is said at 12:30 p.m. at St. Anthony's church and the Procession of Saints begins at 2 p.m.
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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware's St. Anthony's Italian Festival turns 50. What to expect
