San Gennaro Feast brings Italian flavors to Lenny Bruno Farms; Sunflowers bloom in Jamesport
The sights, sounds and flavors of Italy filled Lenny Bruno Farms in Manorville on Saturday as the fourth-generation family farm hosted its annual San Gennaro Feast.
Despite forecasts for clouds and possible rain showers on Saturday, sunny skies prevailed throughout the day.
Food was central to the celebration, with vendors incorporating produce grown and harvested at Lenny Bruno Farms into dishes served at the festival.
Stations offered Italian favorites including sausage and peppers and personal pizzas. The event also featured a meatball-eating contest.
The two-day festival celebrates Italian-American heritage and San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples, while drawing on the Bruno family’s own immigrant farming roots. Dominick Bruno established the farm in the early 1930s, and his son Lenny later took over the operation.
The event came as the more famous San Gennaro Feast on Mulberry Street in New York City’s Little Italy marked its 100th anniversary Thursday, while the Hampton Bays version celebrated its 15th anniversary this month.
For Paul Scotto of Moriches, who attended the Manorville feast with his significant other, Carrie Hilliard, those other celebrations provided a natural comparison.
“I come to Lenny Bruno’s all the time but this is my first time at the San Gennaro Feast — it’s a step up from the one in Hampton Bays,” Mr. Scotto said. “This is laid out very nicely — a lot more vendors than I expected there to be. I’ll definitely come back in the future.”
In Jamesport, Harbes Family Farm hosted its annual Sunflower Festival on Saturday, where families had the opportunity to walk through the sunflower field and corn maze, pick pumpkins and apples, and get their faces painted.
“People want to get out,” said Harbes Family Farm manager Anne Marie Compitello. “They want to see sunflowers, they want to walk through them. It’s a beautiful day. I would think everybody wants to come.”
Andrew Wentz and Lisa Vero of Lindenhurst were among those who came after seeing a promotional video for the event on TikTok.
“We’re into sunflowers, we thought it would be nice,” Mr. Wentz said. “We love coming out here. The weather’s been nice and the sunflowers looked beautiful. We took a walk around the corn maze and everything is set up nicely.”
Photos by Nick Mongiovi
