To participate July 14-18, or for more information, visit the Mount Carmel website.
Donations to the fundraiser may be made online at our Go Fund Me page.
The Society of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Verplanck is asking the community for help to reach a milestone. The organization, known for its Italian festival every July since 1922, hopes to celebrate 100 years in summer 2022.
A Go Fund Me site has been set up to help the group make this possible. The nonprofit organization (located at the corner of Eighth Street and Highland Avenue in Verplanck) was unable to rent its banquet hall or hold fundraisers over the last year due to the pandemic. The group’s main source of fundraising, the five-night Italian festival, was canceled as well.
Plans are underway to create a festival July 14-18, 2021, but funds are needed to make “The Feast” a success, and to help build toward the centennial celebration a year from now.
Society of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Vice President Mike Letteri explains, “The annual festival of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a tradition that goes back many hundreds of years in Southern Italy. It was brought to Verplanck by the immigrants who arrived here between 1890 and 1920 to work in the brickyards and stone quarry. Those men created the Society to assist families in time of need, and, now, we find the Society itself is in need.”
The Catholic feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is July 16, which is why the Mt. Carmel Society has held its festival the third weekend in July since 1922. One of the highlights of the festival is an Italian mass at St. Patrick’s Church on Sunday, followed by a procession with the members of the Mount Carmel Society carrying a statue of the saint. Later that night, an extravagant fireworks display is enjoyed by thousands.
The Feast of Mount Carmel features local talent and community organizations.
