One of this weekend’s biggest events in Seattle is a new event – the San Gennaro Festival. It’s happening in Georgetown – but the family behind it is from West Seattle, and wants to make sure you know you’re welcome! Angela Mascio contacted WSB to share that news, explaining:
We started a non-profit foundation called the San Gennaro Foundation of Seattle, which is planning the first annual San Gennaro Festival of Seattle to be held in Georgetown Sept 7th and 8th. It’s going to be a great festival with authentic Italian food, music, and wine :) There will be a kids’ area with different activities throughout the day. We chose the Puget Sound Blood Center to receive any proceeds from this first festival, and we’re also having a blood drive to celebrate the blood miracle of Saint Gennaro.
This festival began in New York as a way for immigrants to celebrate their culture. Today, that festival is about two weeks long and they close down all of Little Italy in New York. Many other major US cities have followed suite and have San Gennaro festivals, so we decided it was about time for one in Seattle.
10 am-10 pm Saturday and 10 am-6 pm Sunday, South Angelo Street in Georgetown will be closed for the festival. It’s where her family first started their businesses, and they still own a building there, Angela explained:
About 50ish years ago, my grandparents and my father and two of his sisters came over from Italy. My grandmother missed the fresh pasta from her father’s pasta company back in Italy, so she started making it in her basement. It grew into a business and their first location was on South Angelo Street in Georgetown. Mascio’s Pasta grew and my dad took it over eventually. It grew more, he sold his shares, and started his own company, again in Georgetown first (San Gennaro Foods, we manufacture Polenta). We’re currently in Kent.
Angela shared this link to her grandfather’s obituary from 1990. She also says her aunt has a business in Georgetown and revived the “Mascio’s Italian Specialty Foods” name. But enough about history – back to the festival. Here’s the entertainment schedule; here’s a map to the location.
| 16 COMMENTS