Lowellville Mount Carmel festival marks 121st year

By Sarah Lehr

slehr@vindy.com

LOWELLVILLE

For decades, locals referred to Lowellville as the Mahoning Valley’s “Little Italy.”

Lowellville’s Italian heritage lives on each summer at the Mount Carmel Festival on Washington Street.

The festival kicks off its 121st year at 6 p.m. today. It continues Thursday, Friday and Saturday, also at 6 p.m.

Feasts honoring Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a Catholic saint, date to the 13th century in southern Italy. Traditionally, villagers would burn dolls in effigy, hoping to rid their communities of last year’s woes.

Lowellville does not burn dolls, though it pays homage to the tradition in its own way – with the much-anticipated “baby doll dance.” The dance, which involves fireworks shot out of the heads of 15-foot-tall papier mache dolls, will entertain crowds at 10 p.m. today, as well as at 11 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

Rocco Nolfi, Mount Carmel Society president, said few communities can boast long-standing traditions as Lowellville’s festival.

“Things do change slightly from year to year, but what’s amazing is that we keep it pretty much the same,” Nolfi said.

Nolfi’s great-great-grandfather Pietro Perone founded Lowellville’s Mount Carmel Society in 1895. Nolfi noted many descendents of Lowellville’s earliest residents still live in the village and said the festival also draws natives who have since moved away.

Festival attendance often reaches 6,000 people on Saturday, the busiest day. The festival culminates at 11 p.m. Saturday with a display by Zambelli Fireworks.