The Hoboken Italian Festival: Feast of the Modanna Dei Martiri

The freestyle concert was EVERYTHING! Having Johnny O and Cynthia was especially impressive, having them sing Dreamgirl/​Dreamboy together was the highlight of the night. Was a total 80s/​90s jam fest and I loved it.
The food was decent, though not very Italian. Was very much more of a Hispanic crowd (though, it IS Hudson county, and Freestyle music is the music of the Puerto Ricans, so not surprising…). Other than the Italian flags every here and there, I would never expect for it to have been an Italian festival.
Had an amazing time nonetheless. $ 5 beer and wine, super social environment, cool for mingling with others around the park while jamming out to the 80s music and having a Gyro. Was my first time attending the festival but will definitely be attending next year.

I love, love, love coming to this festival even if only for the zeppole and the fireworks. It’s a small festival, yes, with sometimes what I think kitschy music, but something from the extra heartwarming vibe you get seeing 3 generations of Italian families gathering together to enjoy Italian food, listen to song, and dance against the breathtaking backdrop of Manhattan and Frank Sinatra Park makes it enchanting to me. This is Hoboken pre-​gentrification, pre-​Yuppies. Are there many vendors at the feast? Not like the San Gennaro Feast in Manhattan. But here the food vendors are cleaner, the zeppoles, outstanding, and you are in Hoboken with view of Manhattan, not dirty garbage filled streets. I don’t even eat the zeppole at San Gennaro. Taste the ones here and you will see why. So if you don’t want the limited Italian menu, go nosh in the numerous eateries in Hoboken. I’ve learned to grab some filling dinner sometimes (Hoboken has a great Thai place) and come for the dessert and festivities and just to see people having some clean fun. And the fireworks? No, we’re not talking a July 4^th spectacle. But this little town coughs up one of the best fireworks show ever. I’ve missed them due to rain in the past or caught them by viewing off the Hudson park waterfront by Christopher St (when I’ve been too lazy to cross the river during the night.) Viewed from Hoboken or Manhattan, the show is joyous. This year, the show started off a little stilted but as in the past, have never disappointed. Sea anemones, stars and rockets and chrysanthemums in the sky! Oh the fireworks from this little festival make my heart sing and fly! Thank you, Hoboken.

I’ll buck the trend and go 4 stars.
For whatever reason there has only been 5 reviews for this festival and mine is the only one for this year.
Located in Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken, it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon to be by the water and enjoy this festival, probably the last one of the summer for me.
I didn’t have a problem with the different ethnicities in regards to food. They had a lot of different options, which was a good thing. Even being Italian, you can only have sausage & peppers and zeppoles so many times.
They had many different stands, including a stand where you can get hand rolled cigars. While I was there they also had the Garden State Jazz Orchestra playing.
For food, we had a sandwich of roast pork, mozzarella and broccoli rabe. We also got polenta fries with Chipotle Mayo from the stand next door. The sandwich was a great deal for only $ 5.00, it was huge (a lot bigger than the one on display) and kept us covered for the rest of the afternoon.
It may be small, but it certainly packs a punch with the number of options for food, drink, games, shops etc. Looking forward to next year’s festival.

Ya know for an Italian festival, there wasn’t too much Italian food to go around. I actually ended up buying some Spanish food which was pretty tasty. Everything was a bit pricey though. Maybe I’m just foolish for wanting to spend under $ 10 a person at a festival?
For something that has been so hyped up, I felt disappointed. Nonetheless I will probably still join in next year.

Decided to detour from our planned Saturday venture & check out this festival instead after seeing the ad for it. It was very festive & lively, a lot of families with children in attendance. There were fireworks at night
The rice balls weren’t very good (and I’m a sucker for rice balls normally). The rice inside was just too darn gloppy & they really need to add more cheese to it.
We tried one of the brick-​oven pizza spots and it was really good. A thicker crust (my preferred) & crisped just right.
Had myself a delicious & fresh lemonade too — really crispy & refreshing. Only $ 3 for this massive cup. It confused me a tad b/​c they advertised it with fruit, but then when I doublechecked with the lady behind the counter, she said there isn’t fruit. Chu are trying to trick me, eh?
They had fireworks on the Hudson at 10pm (tho they advertised it beginning at 9pm) and it was a pretty sight. Not Macy’s-fireworks-impressive, but still pretty nonetheless. I would choose a spot that’s closer to the water and to the far off right (away from the stage) for a clearer view of the fireworks.
As usual with all festivals, the prices are jacked up a little higher than normal, but I would still say this was definitely still very affordable & it was a very good time.
Must-​do for next time: rock-​climbing wall.

At first there was confusion as I looked around and wondered where the hell did this come from? I had only been down this street a week ago and there was nothing that even hinted that there was going to be a festival taking place here. Now the street is lined with food vendors, inflatable slides, a beer garden, and a boatload of people. I guess I should get out more often.
I ventured into the festival and pushed my way though the masses of people who where either waiting in line or trying to get through like me. They had a lot of food vendors which was nice and the food was not half bad. I got a steak and cheese from one of them and then found a good spot to do one of my favorite activities at. Extreme People Watching. I was not disappointed although while standing, eating, and observing, some drunk lady crashed into me while stumbling down the street and then yelled at me for getting in her way.
After the sub I found the stage that they set up next to the Hudson and were featuring some live bands. The only one I watched was Opera 3000, which caused a riot of fist pumping for a little bit. They also managed to attract a drunk bum and two guys dressed in Batman and Robin suits, who all proceeded in having a dance off right in front of the stage. I was at a loss for words.
Overall I gave the festival three stars because of the variety of vendors, the live music and the associated entertainment. I’m sure it would have been significantly better if my friends and I were there taking advantage of the beer garden. Can’t say I will forget about this experience any time soon.

2011 Fest:
–If you like hearing stories about Sinata from the few remaining boken old-​timers…
–If you like pretending to care what drunk Italian chicks from jerZ are saying…
–If you like «talking shop» with drunk yuppie chicks that recently moved to boken…
–If you like watching off-​duty boken cops kick it to B&T chunky broads…
–If you enjoy the food they serve and believe it is authentic Italian grub…
–If you think you are the next Hoboken Idol or into Lady Gaga…
well…get ya ass out here.
*Tonight is Freestyle Friday… yea, push up on me, you 25-​year old puerto rican grandma*

Well, as a wise man once said, «The Hoboken Italian Festival? If you blink, you’ll miss it.» So true.
I was super excited for the Hoboken Italian Fest. I had even planned an afternoon around it… and… it was teeny tiny. Primarily cheapy boardwalk games and food that was not even Italian. The whole thing was about a block long — and that estimation is probably overly generous. A couple of Italian booths stood out, so we went to those and grabbed pizza and pasta, of course. We ended up hearing an Australian (yup. Australian.) crooner sing Sinatra songs while we ate by the water. The whole thing was pleasant enough, but could have been much better executed and much more authentic.