Community Corner
Italy Comes To The Bradley Beach Boardwalk
Sons of Italy "Festa Italiano" this weekend
The aroma of sausage and peppers cooking on a hot grill filled the boardwalk of Bradley Beach this weekend while Italian-American artists Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin played in the background. Families and loved ones walked hand in hand sharing zeppoles and pizza for the Sons of Italy annual “Festa Italiano;” a marriage between Italian culture and a shore-town’s lifestyle.
The Sons of Italy are a “national organization of men and women who represent the estimated 26 million Americans of Italian heritage, dedicated to promoting [their] culture, traditions, language, the legacy of [their] ancestors, and [their] contributions to the U.S. and the world,” according to the organization’s website, www.osia.org.
According to the member of the local Sons of Italy Lodge of Asbury Park, Fred Fiore, the group has been hosting this summer festival at Bradley Beach for the last 10 years, with Anthony Susino chairing the celebration of Italian heritage.
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“The money that is raised from the festival goes to charity,” said Theresa Woolley, President of the Asbury-based organization. “We thought it would be important to raise money for scholarships for school children.”
Woolley has been involved in the festival for seven out of the 10 years it has been hosted in the borough, and they plan to keep it going every year she said Saturday evening.
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Members of The Sons of Italy worked a booth at the start of the festival, selling sausage and pepper sandwiches for $7. The sausage stand advertised that 100-percent of the proceeds went to charity, as guests lined up for a taste of this classic staple in the Italian-American diet.
The festival was advertised as “bigger than ever,” this year, stretching across the entire Bradley Beach boardwalk.
The fest began on Friday, July 29 from 4 to 11 p.m., continued Saturday from 1 to 11 p.m., and wrapped up Sunday from 1 to 11 p.m.
On Saturday, a professional bocce tournament took place from 10 to 5 p.m., with fireworks at dusk at the Brinley Avenue beachfront.
Tents with classic festival fare lined the wooden planks, offering food such as corn on the cob, pizza, funnel cake, fried oreos, fried green beans, vegetable sandwiches, Italian ices, kettle corn and freshly-squeezed lemonade.
A vendor from all over the state came to the three-day event to sell their unique goods such as jewelry, toys, purses, sunglasses, incents and home décor.
Italian-American themed t-shirts were common at the festival, displaying phrases that read “not only am I American, I’m Italian too!”
Linnie and John Philly, from Raritan sold t-shirts, bibs, aprons, towels and sweatshirts that read “Its gravy, not sauce!”
“This is our first year at the event,” John Philly said as he stood next to his wife, both sporting the t-shirts they were selling.
Mark Kelly, Montclair, came to promote the Grate Gourmet, a kitchen tool that would make the feat of cutting and peeling garlic a simpler one.
Walking through the festival, a band sporadically started playing Italian music, as attendees and vendors gathered around and clapped their hands.
At the fifth avenue gazebo, where the festival began, guests sang along to classic songs by Italian-American singers Sinatra and Martin.
On the other end of the boardwalk, guests sought solitude at the bocce ball court, where families competed against each other.
Straying outside the festival, residents of Bradley Beach sat on their porches as “New York, New York” by Sinatra filled the borough streets.
While a trip to Italy may be an expensive one to take this summer, The Sons of Italy surely gave guests a taste of the culture, the fun, and the importance of celebrating your roots.
