LOCAL NEWS: Cleveland's Little Italy Preparing for The Feast

LOCAL NEWS: Cleveland’s Little Italy Preparing for The Feast of the Assumption

Assortment of dried pasta shapes, full frame

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CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Feast of the Assumption in Cleveland’s Little Italy neighborhood is Aug. 12-15 and more than 100,000 people are expected to pass through the neighborhood to eat, drink and celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

It’s the 119th annual year for the event that is hosted by the Parish of Holy Rosary and commemorates Mary being taken into Heaven.

Guarino’s Restaurant expects to sell upwards of 6,000 bowls of cavatelli. Over at Maxi’s they expect to go through 700 pounds of calamari, 500 pounds of Frog Legs, 600 pounds of meatballs, 400 pounds of Tripe and more. At Holy Rosary Church they usually prep about 4,500 meatballs, 1,800 pounds of cavatelli and 250 gallons of pasta sauce (the priest’s own recipe) in preparation for the four-day event.

This year The Feast runs Saturday at noon through Tuesday at 11 p.m. There’s a Solemn Mass at 10 a.m. Tuesday with a Procession following the Mass, at 11:15 am. The procession begins at Holy Rosary Church and continues throughout the entire Little Italy neighborhood before concluding at Holy Rosary Church (at 12:45 p.m.).

The church hosts a sit-down cavatelli dinner after the procession, noon – 3:30 p.m. in the air-conditioned hall, for $8. But that’s just some of the food offered up and down Mayfield Road throughout the event.

You can feast on sausage/pepper/onion sandwich, pizza, pizza and sausage, fried mozzarella, chicken tenders, fried ravioli, eggplant rollette, tiramisu, Italian ice, fried dough and funnel cakes.

There is also a Dolceria and Café featuring espresso, cappuccino, lattes, etc., plus home-made pizzelles, Italian cookies and more.

The neighborhood businesses and restaurants with stands at the Feast (located in front of their usual place of business) include: