AUTHOR’S NOTE: This post documents my experience on July 10, 2021, but I first attended this festival in 2018, when I accidentally arrived too early for the festival, but was able to walk in the procession.
You can read about that experience at https://ohiofestivals.net/our-lady-of-mount-carmel-festival/
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It was a beautiful summer evening at Our Lady of Mount Carmel…
…and the perfect time for their annual festival.
Luca and I walked onto the festival grounds…
…smelling the zeppoli right away, but deciding to wait until we ate dinner.
As we walked around, I tried to teach Luca how to play the Italian Grocery Stand game…
…all the various betting games…
…and even the pull-tabs…
…but – smartly enough – he decided on a sure thing and won himself a dinosaur.
As the stage was getting setting up for the evening’s entertainment…
…inflatables were getting underway…
…and people were shopping for their favorite Italian T-Shirt…
…hungry guests could go indoors for an Italian dinner…
…purchase those same Italian dishes outside…
…or select a non-Italian option from some local food trucks (Barrio/Bearden’s)…
…all which could be accompanied with a cold glass of beer, a fine glass of wine…
…or a refreshing lemonade.
As the festival started to fill with more people…
…Luca and I grabbed a table in the shade…
…and ate our way through meatballs and pasta…
…a slice of pepperoni pizza…
…and the last cannoli in the tray (because we couldn’t help ourselves).
I had forgotten the cotton candy I had previously promised Luca…
…not to mention the delicious zeppoli I had promised myself…
…and, yet, I still ate two of them.