Remembering St. Anthony's annual Italian Festival in Wilmington: Photo highlights

Patricia Talorico, Delaware News Journal
Updated ·1 min read

St. Anthony's Italian Festival, which runs through Sunday, has been an enduring Wilmington tradition for nearly 50 years.

It started in 1974 in a six-block area around St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church at Ninth and Du Pont streets. When the red-white-and-green banners are raised in the streets surrounding the church, locals know the festival is about to begin.

Up to her elbows in sauce. A June 1985 photo of Columbia Alsia, then 80, a longtime cook at St. Anthony's Italian Festival. Alsia, born in Naples, said she started cooking at 6 a.m. and made about 100 gallons of sauce and used close to 500 pounds of ground beef for the meatballs. When asked about her sauce, she said, "I can't let my secret out!"
Up to her elbows in sauce. A June 1985 photo of Columbia Alsia, then 80, a longtime cook at St. Anthony's Italian Festival. Alsia, born in Naples, said she started cooking at 6 a.m. and made about 100 gallons of sauce and used close to 500 pounds of ground beef for the meatballs. When asked about her sauce, she said, "I can't let my secret out!"

While some aspects of the eight-day festival have changed over the years — there is now an admission fee, the fireworks have long fizzled and restaurants now cook some of the food, rather than church parishioners — the June carnival celebrating Italian culture and food still is considered by many to be a Delaware rite of summer.

Its hours this week are 6 to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 4 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Here's a look at the festival through the years.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: A look back at photos from St. Anthony's Italian Fest in Wilmington