Feast of San Gennaro begins in Little Italy, kicking off 11 days of food and fun
NEW YORK -- The 11-day Feast of San Gennaro started Thursday, driving a lively, hungry crowd to Manhattan's Little Italy.
As CBS'2s Dave Carlin reports, you don't come here for just a taste, you need to feel stuffed at the annual event. It means you did good.
The salute to the patron saint of Naples started back in 1926, and it's grown and grown.
"It's the largest feast in the country. It's 11 days straight," said Karen King, owner of Alleva Dairy.
She urges festival-goers to "come here hungry" and "experience the different flavors of Little Italy."
"I think people should come here, celebrate our Little Italy, support what we're doing here, and we put our all our love and effort into making the best food, the best desserts for you guys, so come to us," King said.
The festival also features rides and a meatball eating contest on the very last day. The last time the contest was held, a man won by eating 48 meatballs.
For a full schedule of this year's feast, visit sangennaronyc.org/event-calendar.