Who’s up for a party, Italian-style? This weekend, Baltimore’s Little Italy lights up and gets festive, celebrating the Feast of St. Gabriele with food, music, games, vino and more.
The party takes place from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, August 18 and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, August 19 at the intersection of High and Stiles Streets in Little Italy. The festival is a fundraiser for St. Leo the Great Church – admission is a $1 donation.
The festival is full of fun activities and plenty to watch, eat and drink. There will be booths with Italian food, wine and beer, games, Italy-related souvenirs to buy and a kids’ area with a variety of activities and face-painting.
Festival highlights include a Roma Sausage-eating contest, roaming Roman gladiators (available for selfies!), a bocce tournament and an indoor sit-down pasta dinner. Over the course of the two-day festival, four different bands will perform, entertaining the crowd.
Also, following Sunday’s 9:30 a.m. mass at St. Leo’s, there will be a street procession featuring a statue of St. Gabriele. The original statue was brought to Baltimore from the saint’s shrine in Italy.
The festival started in 1928, when the Saint Gabriel Society was established. In the early years, the festival sometimes lasted up to 10 days, drawing attendees from up and down the East Coast. Longtime Little Italy residents recall that those long festivals – which lasted until about the early 1970s – were like carnivals, 
complete with Ferris wheels.
The Feast of St. Gabriele is one of two St. Leo’s festivals that take place in Little Italy each summer; the Feast of St. Anthony took place last June.
If you’re planning to hit the St. Gabriele Festival, Harbor Park Garage is a great starting point. Conveniently located at 55 Market Place in downtown Baltimore, Harbor Park is convenient and easily accessible – and a quick walk to Little Italy. Parking at the garage is reasonably priced and if you have any questions at all, the friendly, knowledgeable staff is on hand to help.
Feast of St. Gabriele: http://www.promotioncenterforlittleitaly.org/italian-festivals.html
Harbor Park Garage: http://backup.harborparkgarage.com/