Niles will host the 119th Maria Santissima Lauretana festival, a traditional Italian cultural and religious celebration that also includes plenty of food, drink and entertainment, over Labor Day weekend. The festival, which honors the Catholic Virgin Mary, originated in a Sicilian town and was brought to the Chicago area as immigrants arrived here.
According to Angelo Camarda, chairman of the Maria Santissima Lauretana Society, Chicago has held the Lauretana festival every year since 1900 to celebrate the feast day of the Virgin Mary. Maria Santissima Lauretana is one of many titles for the Virgin Mary, and it is the title most often used among immigrants from Altavilla Milicia, a small town near Palermo, Sicily, and their descendants.
The festival will be held at Golf Mill Park from Friday Aug. 30 until Monday, Sep. 2 and will include food, drink, music, carnival rides and arcade games in addition to religious activities. Admission to the festival is free.
Like many Italian American festivals, this one will include an outdoor Catholic Mass on Sunday, as well as a procession with a statue of a saint or holy figure, in this case Maria Santissima Lauretana, and traditional music played by a marching band.
The distinguishing feature of this festival, however, is a tradition from centuries past in Italy called the Flight of the Angels. Two young girls dressed as angels are hoisted up about 15 feet above street level via a rope and pulley system, and they recite prayers in Italian that honor the Virgin Mary.
Because Italian religious feasts usually have a celebratory quality, food makes up an important part of them. Food vendors this year are scheduled to include Caponie’s Pizza, Italian Ice and Gelato, Joseph’s Finest Meats, Nana’s Nuts, Sicilian Bakery, Sicilian Panelli, Smokey Spike’s Barbeque, Spuntino’s, and Trigula del Sol-Mexican Cuisine.
There will also be a beer garden with an assortment of beer and wine, embellished by authentic Italian music.
On Friday, Sealed With a Kiss will perform at 5:30 p.m. followed by The Four C Notes at 9 p.m. Saturday’s headliners include Tynan Rocks at 4:30 p.m. and Infinity at 9 p.m. Monday night, LeNuove Onde with Stella Raimondi will perform at 7 p.m. followed by Tony Spavone and Anna Calemme, with Gino Nuccio as the emcee. There will also be nightly concerts by the Sicilian Band of Chicago.
On Sunday, the day will begin with the procession of torches at 9 a.m. on Church St. followed by the solemn high Mass at 10 a.m.
The traditional procession with the venerated image of Maria Santissima Lauretana will take place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, followed by the Flight of the Angels at both 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. A fireworks show will take place Sunday evening at 9 p.m.
“It’s kind of a festival for all people,” Camarda said. “It’s a fun festival for families. It’s there if you want to say a prayer or if you want to have some fun.”
