Thursday, October 1, 2026
For more than a century, generations of Italian American families in Inwood have gathered each summer to honor their patron saint, celebrate their heritage and reconnect with loved ones during the annual Santa Marina Feast.
This year’s celebration will take place July 10 and 11 at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Inwood, featuring two evenings of food, music, rides, raffles and community festivities.
At its heart, however, organizers said the feast remains a deeply religious tradition centered on faith, family and honoring Santa Marina, the patron saint of Filandari, Calabria, Italy — the hometown of many of the area’s earliest Italian immigrants.
The festivities will begin with a novena service on July 9 at 8 p.m. The feast opens on July 10 at 7 p.m. and continues July 11 with a 10 a.m. Mass and procession through the streets of Inwood, followed by an evening feast beginning at 7 p.m.
For Giovanni Curra, the Santa Marina Society’s treasurer and secretary, the weekend represents a continuation of a tradition passed down through generations.
“My father and my grandfather brought this tradition here from Italy,” Curra said. “We continue to raise money for the church and the community in general. The neighborhood has changed very much over the years, but we continue our Italian heritage and tradition and try to keep the church going and bring something special for families to enjoy.”
While the food, games and entertainment draw large crowds, Curra said the religious observance remains the centerpiece.
“My favorite part, truly, is the religious end of it — the Mass and the procession on Saturday,” he said. “The feast part is fun, but the main purpose is to celebrate Santa Marina. We still carry the statue of the saint through the streets of Inwood, and everyone walks together with a marching band. That’s my favorite part of the whole thing.”
The procession annually attracts hundreds of worshippers, many of whom return to Inwood from across Long Island and beyond.
Organizers estimate that nearly 1,000 people attend the Mass each year.
Behind the scenes, dozens of volunteers spend months preparing for the celebration. Among them is Michelle Geluso, the society’s corresponding secretary, who has dedicated nearly three decades to the organization.
Geluso first became involved as a teenager in the 1990s, directing a children’s choir that performed during the feast Mass.
“I always watched my mom, who was a singer and involved with the society,” Geluso said. “When I was old enough to start helping, that responsibility made you feel important. It gave you a chance to contribute to something bigger than yourself.”
Over the years, her role evolved from choir director to communications coordinator, historian and social media administrator. For the society’s 100th anniversary, she compiled historical photographs and documents into a commemorative booklet.
“The photographs are a huge part of each year’s feast,” Geluso said. “People look back at loved ones who are no longer with us or remember milestones in their lives. You’ll see a photo and say, ‘That was my first Santa Marina Feast,’ or ‘That’s the first year I brought my boyfriend.’ These are marked moments in people’s histories.”
Geluso said one of the most meaningful aspects of the feast is the role women play in preserving traditions and passing them to future generations.
Women begin meeting as early as January to organize raffles, merchandise sales, religious items and other details that help support the celebration. In years’ past, they also operated food booths and coordinated many of the feast’s day-to-day activities.
“We recently welcomed a new 16-year-old into our women’s society meetings, and that’s such a milestone,” Geluso added. “For the women, it’s about carrying on traditions and making sure the next generation stays connected.”
That next generation includes Marina Perna, 16, a fourth-generation Santa Marina Society member who officially joined the organization this year.
“My whole family is involved,” Perna said. “It started with my great-grandfather, then my grandfather, my parents and now me.”
Perna, who will attend Kellenberg Memorial High School this fall, said joining the society is about much more than volunteering.
“Being part of this society is truly special,” she said. “When you’re in that church during the Mass, especially when the band comes in, it’s a feeling that is hard to describe. No matter what people are going through, it lifts them up.”
She now helps organize raffles and merchandise sales, including commemorative ornaments and rosary beads.
“We’re not all family by blood, but we truly feel like one big family,” Perna said. “We all come from the same roots, from the same town in Italy, and we work together all year to make this happen.”
As preparations continue, organizers hope the feast will once again serve as a bridge between generations, preserving traditions while welcoming newcomers.
“We’re looking forward to having the Mass in English again,” Geluso said. “It helps younger generations stay connected to the faith and understand what’s happening. As long as they understand the Mass and its meaning, they’ll continue carrying these traditions forward.”
For many families, that continuity is exactly what makes the Santa Marina Feast so enduring.
“It’s about faith, family and remembering where we came from,” Curra said. “That’s why we keep doing it.”
