St. Peter's Italian Bazaar will celebrate its 100th Year

Many come for the food, others for the tradition or the faith community it supports. Whatever the reason, the St. Peter’s Italian Bazaar has been drawing thousands of people to the street outside St. Peter Church in Portland for 100 years.

The bazaar is held annually around the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15) and the Feast of Saint Rocco (August 16). This year, it will be held on Friday, August 8, and Saturday, August 9, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. On Saturday, the festival begins with Mass at 4 p.m. at St. Peter Church, 72 Federal Street, celebrated by Bishop James Ruggieri.

The festival features homemade Italian food including pizza, ziti, and Italian meatballs, as well as Italian cookies and other treats. It also features old-fashioned carnival games for all ages and live music. Jim Ciampi and his seven-piece dance band will perform on Friday night, and Dan Fontaine & Memphis Sun Mafia Band, along with Jimmy Mazz, will perform on Saturday night.

Although it has now been retired, for many years, one of the featured attractions was the greased pole. The goal was to climb to the top of a metal flagpole covered in axle grease. In recent years, a successful climb would earn you money, but back in the 1920s, the winner would earn a whole salami or provolone.

A lot has changed in the bazaar since it started. During the early years, women would walk around with trays of pizza balanced on their heads. The ingredients for those pizzas were collected by going door to door to neighborhood stores.

While a successful dime or ring toss might net you a toy today, back then, it would have helped fill your kitchen cupboard.

“It was all canned stuff,” says Susan Sesto Bowden, a longtime volunteer. “I can remember going home and being asked – ‘How many cans of corn did you win?’”

Winning a larger game of chance could mean a new iron or teapot.

While the bazaar has always been designed as a neighborhood street festival, it draws people from miles around. Some folks who have now moved to other states even make it a point to return each August to experience the bazaar.