Photos from the Festa di Santa Rosalia

BENSONHURST – The 42nd annual Festa di Santa Rosalia drew to a close Sunday, August 27th, with the solemn procession of the saint’s statue up 18th Ave and down 20th Ave to Saint Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church on Bay Ridge Parkway.

The street festival started on August 17 and featured a variety of musical acts in the evenings.

Crowds seemed a bit sparse on Sunday afternoon as the procession creaked to start just after 3pm. Monetary offerings fluttered from the statue as it was pulled down 18th, with the Figli di Santa Rosalia society marching along, shining in black and gold.

Festival-goers watched from the side of the street, tucked in between carts offering zeppoles, Italian sausage and rice balls. Many held their phones aloft, taking videos of the procession as the handful of floats crawled past, pulled along by lumbering SUVs.

And just like that, it was over, the sound of the small brass band fading up the block, giving back over to the familiar sounds of oldies radio playing from food carts and the bored, puckish calls from carnival-game operators hoping to entice customers.