The 123rd Annual Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Paulinus of Nola is in full swing! The combination Italian street fair (akin to the San Gennaro festival) and traditional religious observance takes over a small pocket of Williamsburg by The Shrine Church Of Our Lady of Mount Carmel for 12 days every July. Sunday marked the first Giglio lift, during which 130 men carry the 80-foot tall, 3 ton Giglio, as well as a lifesize boat of St. Paulinus, through the streets. And to make sure the lift isn't too easy for these guys, they throw a marching band up there too. Watch: more ›

Every year July we love seeing photos from the 12-day Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and San Paolino in Williamsburg. And this year we're enjoying an added bonus: video of the crazy “Dance of the Giglio,” during which, according to Giglio USA, a five ton platform bearing a five story hand-sculptured tower and a 12-piece brass band is lifted by 125 brawny men who carry it on their shoulders through the neighborhood in tempo to Italian folk songs. Or, as depicted here, the theme from Rocky, which at this point might as well be considered traditional Italian music. The video was taken right at the climactic moment when the Giglio meets "la barca"; i.e. "the boat." (More background on the tradition here.) more ›