St. Bart’s Italian Festival returns to Scotch Plains

After taking a year off due to the pandemic, the St. Bartholomew UNICO Italian Festival returns to Scotch Plains this Labor Day Weekend.

Hosted by the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Chapter of UNICO, St. Bartholomew's Church, and St. Bartholomew's Academy, the festival has been an annual tradition honoring San Nicola di Bari, the patron saint of the town of Montazzoli, Italy, since 1974. It runs from Fri. Sep. 3 through Mon. Sep. 6 in the St. Bartholomew’s Church parking lot on Westfield Ave.

One of the major draws of the festival is the food: sausage and peppers, calzones, mussels, zeppole, pizza, pasta, and pastries are all available daily. Nightly 50/50 drawings take place with a super 50/50 raffle on Monday. There are also carnival rides and games.

Entertainment at the 2021 festival will be Wolf Creek on Friday, The Jersey Four on Saturday, The Broadcasters on Sunday, and Jimmy and the Parrots on Monday.

One of the many highlights of the weekend is a mass celebrated in Italian, which takes place on Saturday at 5:00 PM, following by a procession to honor the patron saint of Montazzoli, Italy, Saint Nicola di Bari. The procession is accompanied by Italian music.

Proceeds from the feast benefit three organizations:

• St. Bartholomew the Apostle Church
• The St. Bartholomew Academy
• The charitable causes of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Chapter of UNICO

For more information, go to the event’s website. For the latest updates, see the event’s Facebook page. They’re still looking for a few volunteers, as well, if you want to help out.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.