Teresa Sauro remembers decorating the procession cart as a child in her aunt's garage, threading ribbons and netting through flowers the day before the Madonna would be carried through the streets of Nonantum. Her grandfather founded the St. Mary of Carmen Society. Her brother served as its president for 42 years.
On Wednesday, July 15, the society's 91st annual Festa opens at Pellegrini Park on Hawthorn Street, running nightly through Sunday, July 19. The five-day Italian-American festival has drawn more than 10,000 people in past years, according to Boston Magazine, to Newton's most densely populated village, a half-square-mile neighborhood wedged between the Charles River and the Massachusetts Turnpike.
"This year's festa means bringing back the families that have moved away, our memories, and keeping our traditions alive for generations to come," Sauro told the Newton Beacon.
Sauro, who also serves as president of the Nonantum Neighborhood Association, is one of the festival's organizers. She represents a through-line to the society's founding in 1935, when it began as a mutual aid organization helping immigrant families during the Great Depression.
A neighborhood built on a buried lake
Many of Nonantum's Italian families trace their roots to San Donato Val di Comino, a village about 68 miles east of Rome, and to Castelvenere in Campania. They arrived in the late 1800s and early 1900s, drawn by factory work along the Charles River.
The neighborhood's nickname, "The Lake," references Silver Lake, a body of water that once covered the area where Watertown Street, Silver Lake Avenue, and Nevada Street now stand. The lake was gradually filled with construction rubble beginning in the 1930s. Debris from the construction of Storrow Drive in 1950 hastened its disappearance. By 1971, Silver Lake was gone entirely.
The Festa began in 1935, just as the lake was beginning to disappear beneath construction rubble. Ninety-one years later, it remains what Boston Magazine described in May 2026 as "the most important event of the year in Nonantum."
What to expect this week
Gates open at 5 p.m. nightly, with free admission. Here's the schedule:
Music — Opening acts at 6 p.m., headliners at 8:30 p.m.:
- Wednesday, July 15: Watch City Cadillacs and Dan Fontaine, followed by Memphis Sun Mafia
- Thursday, July 16: Back to the 80s, followed by The Breeze
- Friday and Saturday lineups are posted at stmaryofcarmen.org/festival
Fabrizia Beer & Wine Garden — Open 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, positioned stage right with a view of all performances.
Fiesta Shows Carnival — More than 15 rides, open 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday. Unlimited ride Megapass: $40 online, $45 on-site. Wristbands: $30 online, $35 on-site.
Sunday Procession — The festival closes Sunday, July 19, with an 8 a.m. Mass, a 2 p.m. Procession of the Madonna down Adams Street, and a 10 p.m. closing procession with dancing and pyrotechnics. Society members carry an adorned statue of the Virgin Mary through Nonantum's streets, accompanied by a marching band. The procession pauses at homes of recently deceased community members, with donations pinned to the statue's sashes.
Upcoming community events
- Wednesday, July 15 – Sunday, July 19: St. Mary of Carmen Society 91st Festa, Pellegrini Park, 11 Hawthorn Street, Nonantum. 5–11 p.m. nightly. Free admission.
- Sunday, July 19: Procession of the Madonna, 2 p.m., Adams Street, Nonantum.
