The Feast of San Gennaro started in 1926 as a one-day neighborhood block party. This year it runs 11 days — Thursday Sept. 17 through Sunday Sept. 27 — and it is the 100th annual feast. Mulberry Street closes to cars between Canal and East Houston, the lights go up over the middle of the street, and the sausage and pepper griddles run from late morning until late at night. Admission is free.

  • Dates — Thu Sept 17 to Sun Sept 27. Daily, late morning into the night.
  • Where — Mulberry Street, Little Italy, between Canal Street and East Houston Street. Free to walk.
  • Music at the Grand Bandstand — free live sets every day at the corner of Grand and Mott, typically 3 p.m. through 9 p.m. The calendar on the feast’s own site lists 37 events across the run.
  • Solemn High Mass — Sat Sept 19, 2 p.m., Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood, 113 Baxter Street, followed by a religious procession with the statue of San Gennaro.
  • Opening night — Thu Sept 17: Johnny Mandolin with Marie Anello, 6 p.m., then Jim Caruso’s Cast Party with Billy Stritch at the piano, 7:30 p.m.
  • Grand Procession — Sat Sept 26, 2–4 p.m. Floats, marching bands, the Giglio Band, a gondola, and the statue of San Gennaro carried through the streets.
  • Closing night — Sun Sept 27: City Rhythm Orchestra at 3 p.m., Jenna Esposito at 6 p.m.
  • The rest of the run — Dominic Chianese on Sept 25, Cory Pesaturo on Sept 22, opera night with MORE Opera on Sept 21, a special live performance from Naples on Sept 26 at 6 p.m.

The music is the underrated part. It’s an 11-day free concert series with a food festival attached — Italian-American standards, Neapolitan songs, opera, jazz — and the bandstand lineup is posted night by night, so you can pick a set instead of just wandering into the crowd.

Go on a weekday afternoon if you want to eat anything without standing in a line, and go Saturday Sept 26 if you want the procession. San Gennaro is 100 years old this year, which is a long time for a street party to keep going in a neighborhood that has been redeveloped around it. Worth showing up for the anniversary.