Hundreds of onlookers crowded near Mulberry Street in Little Italy on Saturday to watch a parade of red, white, and green floats; Cadillacs flying Italian flags; and marching bands playing Italian music for the 96th annual Feast of San Gennaro.
Favorite games like roulette and the grease pole climb have disappeared due to gambling laws and insurance. Food stalls sell tacos, boba tea, and cornbread alongside Italian-American staples like sausage spirals and cannolis. And Little Italy has significantly shrunk as gentrification takes hold.
Beyond adapting to a changing neighborhood and city, the festival also faces other challenges – including driving its massive floats down a narrow street packed with food stalls. This year, some vendor stalls jutted out too far into the street. When the parade’s snare drums and brass bands were gone, some street hawkers blasted the sounds of Latino musician Bad Bunny from their speakers. Several of the vendors were people of color – like Black, Mexican, Salvadoran, Yemeni, or Asian, selling everything from barbacoa to street art.
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