AUTHOR’S NOTE: I returned to this festival in 2021, which you can read at https://ohiofestivals.net/our-lady-of-mount-carmel-festival-cleveland/
This post documents my experience on July 15, 2018.
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When we arrived at Our Lady of Mount Carmel on Sunday after 12…
…the festival was far from being ready.
There had been a special mass, now followed by a procession…
…that went through the neighborhood streets…
…and it looked like a lot of fun!
So we joined in…
…enjoying the music…
…chatting with the parishioners (sometimes in Italian)…
…and occasionally stopping at an intersection to light off fireworks…
…until we could no longer see in front of our own faces.
But after enough walking with two small children (and heat), we headed back to the church around 2…
…admired the pretty interior…
…and then checked the progress of the festival…
…which, unfortunately, was still far from being ready.
Therefore, please use your imagination when viewing the following images…
Along with inflatables…
…kids could enjoy the cutest antique rides…
…and an area for activities and games for prizes…
…while adults games could win them groceries…
…baskets…
…or some good ole cashola.
There was a stage for entertainment…
…a hospitality booth offering neighborhood history…
…the Sons and Daughters of Italy with some Italian trinkets…
…and a large tent…
…for enjoying beer, wine, and limoncello…
…or maybe even some cold and sweet lemonade (it was so hot!).
And, of course, there was food a-plenty, with grub from Bruno’s…
…pizza, sausage…
…and zeppole for dessert.
Fortunately for us, the sisters were ready to serve us some cavatelli and meatballs to take home…
…and it made for a light snack ;-)
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AUTHOR’S NOTE: Unfortunately, when researching this festival, I came across vague start times for Sunday, which ranged from 12 to sometime after the 11:30 mass.
If you go on a Sunday, please wait until after 3 to attend.
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