The weeklong Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel will begin Monday, although in a more limited capacity compared to previous years. The longest-running Italian heritage festival in the country is celebrating its 145th year, and organizers say some aspects of it were never in doubt.
“Regardless of what would’ve transpired ... the most important part of the whole presence of this festival is Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the procession,” Our Lady of Mount Carmel Society President Louis J. Pantalone said, referring to the annual parade where people pin money to a statue of the Virgin Mary.