St. Roch’s is perhaps the parish which most reflects the history and nature of Greenwich as celebrated by their annual feast.
Over a thousand members of the community from all walks of life gather to celebrate a feast that’s as much about community as it is about faith, food, and fun. This year, from August 7th to the 10th, the St. Roch’s feast is back, promising more excitement than ever before.
The feast opens at 6 p.m. from Wednesday to Friday and closes at 10 p.m. On Saturday opens at 5 p.m. and closes after the raffle drawing at 11 p.m.
Paul Cappiali, a longtime organizer of the feast, may initially downplay his role, describing himself as merely a “volunteer.” However, as he describes the event, his deep-rooted passion for this communal gathering radiates from his every word. “It is a massive amount of work,” Cappiali admits, “and we have a lot of fun.”
This year, the feast has a core committee of about 15 dedicated volunteers and more than fifty others who volunteer to help the feast run smoothly.
The history of people pitching in to do something great is nothing new to this area of Greenwich. St. Roch’s church and of Chickahominy are filled with lore, hard work, and heroism.
Dan FitzPatrick, a church member and feast volunteer, recounted the tale of Italian stone masons who worked in the Byram quarries and later settled in Chickahominy. When the bishop in Hartford was disinclined to give them a church, they took matters into their own hands he said. Raising their own funds, they built the church and then offered it to the Diocese in exchange for a priest.
First Selectman Fred Camillo too shared his memories and love for the feast. He recounted the history of how the St. Roch’s community came from another country and established themselves in one part of the town, eventually building a church that now serves as a unifying core for a variety of groups living in the area.
His fond memories of the feast are deeply rooted in his childhood experiences, from his grandmother making pizza fritta, the doughy treat in the front page photo that can be enjoyed with sugar or gravy and cheese, to his continued involvement in the feast as an adult. He pointed out the importance of the feast as a yearly tradition and a way to give back to the community.
“Here’s something people may not know,” recounts Camillo. “If you go in the church, there is a church window, it says, ‘Donated by three friends.’ The three friends are my cousin, Al Moreno, Joseph P. Kennedy, and Clare Boothe Luce.”
Joseph P. Kennedy was the patriarch of the Kennedy family, serving as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1940. Clare Boothe Luce was a playwright and journalist before serving as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives and later as the U.S. Ambassador to Italy, becoming the first American woman appointed to a major ambassadorial post.
It is this rather collegial and historic backdrop that, in the heat of August, brings us the scent of grilling peppers mixed with the laughter of children and the remarkably strong community of St. Roch’s bustling with a feast that also feeds the soul.
For attendees, the feast offers a smorgasbord of culinary delights. While traditional Italian favorites such as “pizza fritta” and sausage and pepper wedges are a mainstay, the feast caters to a broader palate. The Latino food tent has been a popular feature for the past five years, serving delicious offerings like chili shell tacos and street corn.
Like last year, there will be more carnival rides than ever before. Among the fairground staples like the Jumbo Slide and the Sizzler, there will also be smaller rides for kids and traditional games like water pistol challenges and dart throws.
The atmosphere of revelry is heightened by DJs and live bands every night.
To give back to the local community, on Saturday, the rides opens two hours early for children from the Hamilton Avenue School to enjoy for free. “We want to make sure everybody has fun,” Cappiali says, further extending the invitation to social service organizations such as Abilis, Kids in Crisis, and Barbara’s House.
Despite the evolution of the feast over the years, Cappiali stresses the importance of maintaining its traditional roots. “Our feast is always during this time in August, as close to August 16th as we can possibly get, because that is the celebration day for our parish patron Saint Roch,” he explains.
He takes pride in the fact that St. Roch’s is one of the few parishes that still carry out the procession, a tradition that has lost its appeal in the United States but is still cherished in Italy, Spain, and South America. For Cappiali and the others involved, this event is a means to honor their forefathers, the stonemasons who built the church.
In the lead-up to the church’s hundred-year anniversary in 2028, the community has been striving to maintain the church so it lasts for another hundred years with a strong foundation for future generations. “We repointed the church last year, it was a $1.2 million job,” shares Cappiali.
To help cover the expenses, the festival concludes with the much-anticipated St. Roch raffle boasting 20 prizes with a total value of $40,000 at 11 p.m. on Saturday night. Visit www.strochchuch.com/raffle to buy your tickets!
Cappiali and FitzPatrick paint a vibrant picture of an event that carries an unmistakable mark of tradition and local legacy. “The Feast has long been a way in which Chickahominy celebrates its unique nature, not separate from Greenwich, but a unique part of it, and its history and its roots,” says FitzPatrick.
“It’s a celebration of Greenwich, really,” FitzPatrick explained. “It’s fun, simple family entertainment, which we don’t have a lot of these days.” Asked why he loves the feast so much, FitzPatrick says, “It’s The Wonder Years all over again.”
