Food, fun make Our Lady of Grace's feast and festival a major success

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The chant “so good, so good” that echoed through Festival Field and under the big top Sunday afternoon could have also been the theme of this year’s Our Lady of Grace Church’s La Madonna della DiFesa feast and festival.

Moreover, little did Steve Cass know that he was setting the tone – of sorts – for one of the most fun-filled sessions of the ageless gathering, which again featured some of the best Italian food this side of Boston’s famed North End.

Cass joined the highly regarded Calamari Brothers for Sunday afternoon’s musical entertainment. And sometime around 1:30 p.m. or so, when keyboard player and leader Jerry “Jack” Rubino, saxophonist Vinny Lato and drummer Anthony Del Signore began playing Neil Diamond’s hit “Sweet Caroline,” Cass took his hand-held microphone into the audience.

And as the Calamari Brothers played the tune – which baseball fans know as the theme song at Fenway Park – Cass became more and more active and led the crowd through each and every word.

Meanwhile, people like Rita Marsella performed such important roles as providing community policing, and Jordan Baggesen helped his grandmother Carol Cambio – who heads the overall food presentation – with some kitchen chores along with his mother and father, Becky and Charlie Baggesen.

And that was only inside the Our Lady of Grace Parish Hall kitchen.

At Festival Field inside the clean and well-appointed permanent festival booths, ladies like Phyllis Gelsomino put the finishing touches of plates of lasagna. Likewise, Lucille Lombardo – as she has done for years – captained the team of doughboy makers.

“There’s plenty of food everywhere,” said Stephen Ucci, a Johnston state representative who was accompanied by his family. “No one will go hungry at this feast.”

Nor did anyone go without having some good old-fashioned fun, courtesy of Amron Family Fun Fare, which owned and operated by Ed Browning.

Young children enjoyed everything from Amron’s newly purchased Castlemania Slide to the Duck Pond, Bowlarama and the High Striker.

“Everything was fantastic,” said the Rev. Peter J. Gower, pastor at Our Lady of Grace. “And thank God we had great weather for everyone to enjoy a tremendous feast.”

Joe Quartino, the event’s chairman, added: “This year’s feast and festival was phenomenal. We could possibly have set a record, but we won’t know until all the bills come in. But I do know we have the best crew around. Everyone that works on this event is super and special. They make it the success it has been and was last weekend.”

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