The Feast of Maria Santissima Lauretana, one of Chicago’s largest and longest-running Italian festivals, took place over Labor Day weekend for its 121st year. Not just a carnival-and-music fest, it is a celebration rooted in family, religion and tradition.
The feast day of Maria Santissima Lauretana, Sept. 8, has been celebrated in Sicily for over 400 years, festival organizers said. The tradition, brought here and hosted by the Maria Santissima Lauretana Society of Altavilla Milicia in Chicago, generally takes place for three days over Labor Day weekend, and for the past six years the event has been held at Golf Mill Park in Niles.
“The purpose of our festival has always been primarily to honor the blessed mother, our hometown patron saint, Maria Santissima Lauretana,” said Angelo Camarda, festival chair.
“Last year we really missed not having the festival due to the pandemic, so this year, members banded together as a team to do whatever was necessary to make this event happen,” Camarda said.
In 2020, the outdoor festival was canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the society provided a live stream of a Catholic mass given by Cardinal Blase Cupich, and kept doors open at their 5852 West Lawrence Avenue location in Chicago, giving members the opportunity to light a candle or say a prayer, according to Camarda.
The event Camarda says, is religious at its core.
This year’s festival drew thousands, for a weekend that featured food vendors, live music, carnival rides and games, along with a parade, a candlelight procession and procession of the blessed mother, a shrine tent, and two performances of the annual “flight of the angels,” organizers said.
According to the Maria Santissima Lauretana Society of Altavilla Milicia in Chicago website, the flight of the angels, or volata, is a time-honored tradition that dates back to the 1600’s in Sicily, featuring two young girls hanging by rope and belt harnesses high above the crowd, reciting a prayer in Sicilian to the Virgin Mary. The Flight of the Angels tradition was performed twice on Sunday at 5:30 and 8:00 p.m.
Other festival highlights included live musical entertainment by Chicago’s Rat Pack and Jack Miuccio’s Las Vegas Revue, Brass from the Past: a Tribute to the Legends of Rock and Soul, and Joe Martino’s Accordion Extravaganza, and others.
Italian-American cultural items were on sale at the Italian American Store on Wheels, and at the Italian Cultural Center booth, featuring Italian-American authors and books.
Food vendors like Spuntino’s Pizza, Joseph’s Finest Italian Meats, Bella Luna Café, the Sicilian Bakery, A Taste of Sicily, Dolce Famiglia and others also took part.
weekend featured food vendors, live music, carnival rides and games, along with a religious parade, a candlelight procession, procession of the blessed mother, a shrine tent, and two performances of the annual “flight of the angels.”
Rita Gustafson of Pingree Grove attended with her family on Sunday.
“Our entire family belong to the Maria Santissima Lauretana Society in Chicago, a membership that is an important part of our lives. It’s been such a blessing to keep the festival tradition going, especially after the COVID year,” Gustafson said.
Christopher LoVerde of Northbrook attended with family and his 10-month-old daughter Sophia.
LoVerde says his grandfather was a founding member of the society.
“This celebration is something that we can pass down to our daughter,” LoVerde said.
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