Santa Marina Society celebrates century-old tradition in Inwood
For over 100 years, the Santa Marina Society in Inwood has been celebrating and honoring the patron saint Santa Marina.
The annual feast and mass is held to commemorate their ancestor’s immigration from Filandari, a small town in the Calabria region of Italy to Inwood. Their devotion to Santa Marina is what makes this feast special.
“So many people immigrated from that town and stayed local to the Five Towns and do come back every year to participate in this annual event,” said Fran Cimato-Perna.
The Santa Marina Society’s annual feast will be held on Friday, July 12 and Saturday, July 13. There will be Italian food, games, rides and music starting at 7 p.m. each night.
The Novena masses are held on Wednesday, July 10 and Thursday, July 11 at 8 p.m. at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, 68 Wanser Ave., Inwood.
“We have a mass on Saturday in Italian, and then we have a procession through the streets of Inwood, which is the religious part for us,” Cimato-Perna said.
After the mass, there is a procession through the streets of Inwood carrying a statue of the patron saint, Santa Marina.
The religious aspect of the weekend is the whole reason people come and gather. People who visit the patron saint are doing the most important thing, while the feast is for the community at large.
The feast is important for the society because it raises money for Our Lady of Good Counsel, and serves as a major fundraiser to pay for anything the church needs.
The Santa Marina Society was founded in 1921, and carries on the same legacy over a century later. The society is comprised of three main board members — President Sal Cimato, Vice President Marino Curra, and Treasurer/Secretary Giovanni Curra.
“The same families have been running the feast and mass for over 80 years when they immigrated from Filandari,” said Giovanni Curra, treasurer/secretary of the Santa Marina Society.
Even the carnival is in honor for Santa Marina. Admission is free. Guests pay for food, games and the rides.
The two-day carnival is fun for everyone, but for some it still comes back to the religious aspect and paying homage to the patron saint.
“It means a lot to do this, even though the neighborhood has changed tremendously it used to be majority Italian, it’s not that anymore,” Curra said. “We still continue to keep the Italian tradition of the feast and ultimately raise money for the church and keep it afloat.”
