The 103rd St. Anthony’s Feast returns to the North End

Food vendors, parades, and live music will fill the streets of the North End on the last weekend in August.

A previous St. Anthony’s Feast in the North End. Courtesy of St. Anthony's Feast

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Since 1919, the last Sunday in August has seen Saint Anthony’s Feast take to the streets of the North End for a weekend-long festival. Similar to the Fisherman’s Feast, Saint Anthony’s Feast welcomes dozens of street vendors, live entertainment, and thousands of visitors annually.

On the decorated streets of the North End, which is closed to car traffic during the event, festival goers can find purveyors of pizza, arancini, quahogs, sausages, gelato, zeppole, and cannoli. The highlight of the festival is the day-long procession of Saint Anthony’s statue through the streets of the neighborhood, accompanied by a parade of floats and marching bands. Guests can also find live bands and strolling singers throughout the weekend, plus daily religious services and an annual open-air mass honoring Saint Anthony.

The custom of celebrating Saint Anthony, the patron saint for the recovery of lost items, on the last Sunday in August came to the North End in the early 1900s with Italian immigrants from Montefalcione, a small town in southern Italy outside of Naples. The North End community keeps the tradition alive, celebrating its 103rd feast this year.

Schedule highlights of this year’s festival include an outdoor mass at 5 p.m. on Saturday followed by a welcome parade at 6 p.m, live music every night at 7 p.m., and the return of Saint Anthony to Endicott Street at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday. Find the full schedule of events here.