Thursday, July 16, 2015
By SARAH LEHR
lowellville
The annual Mount Carmel Festival on Washington Street pays tribute to Lowellville’s Italian-Catholic heritage.
The event began Wednesday and ends Saturday evening. Each night of the celebration features a baby-doll dance and 15-foot-tall papier mache dolls. A baby-doll dance also will take place at 10:30 p.m. today and Friday.
Traditionally, villagers in southern Italy burned the dolls in effigy, which was supposed to purge the community of last year’s problems. Lowellville doesn’t burn the dolls. Instead, fireworks shoot out off the tops of their heads.
Toni Bisconti, a member of the Mount Carmel Ladies Guild, said the baby-doll dance offers Lowellville residents a “sense of renewal.” When she was growing up, Bisconti’s father was the president of the Lowellville Mount Carmel Men’s Society. She recalled the excitement she felt when her father took her to watch setup before the festival. “I felt like I was getting a behind-the-scenes tour,” she said.
As an adult, Bisconti looks forward to the festival as a chance to see people she hasn’t seen since high school. She urged festival-goers to try the food, especially the fried green beans and the Italian sausage.
Rocco Nolfi, president of the Lowellville Mount Carmel Society, described the festival as the “anchor of our town.” His great-great-grandfather founded the Lowellville Mount Carmel Society in 1895, which means the society celebrates its 120th anniversary this year.
A procession beginning at 9:30 tonight outside the society’s hall will culminate with a high Mass in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Holy Rosary Church on East Wood Street.
On Friday, “Orr Donatelli Day,” there will be activities for disabled children. Donatelli, a society past president who had a disabled child, created the day more than 30 years ago.
The festival also features concerts. Steve Fazzini will play Italian songs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. today. Amanda Jones and the Family Band will play Friday from 6 to 8:30 p.m., and the Mount Carmel band will play tonight and Friday at 8:30 and Saturday at 9.
The festival will end at 11:30 p.m. Saturday with a fireworks display by Zambelli Fireworks of New Castle, Pa.