Celebrate 90 years of Fiesta!

Two films about this popular annual festival of the Italian-American fishing community will run throughout the day in the Museum’s auditorium. Free for Museum members or with admission on Friday and Saturday; free and open to the public on Sunday.

The Greasy Pole (2009)
Runtime: 8 minutes
Created by Emile Doucette, Tom Papows and Michael Pallazola

The Fiesta of St. Peter (1998)
Runtime: 40 minutes
Created by Shep Abbott

St. Peter’s Fiesta is the largest, most colorful of the celebrations which Sicilian immigrants brought to Gloucester. The tradition of celebrating Fiesta began in Gloucester in 1927, and while it remains a deeply religious event at its core, by the 1930s it had expanded to become a City-wide occasion. Fiesta is still celebrated in Gloucester every year in late June and is capped off with four days of music, dancing, parades, fireworks, seine boat races and the traditional greasy pole competition. On the last day of Fiesta, an outdoor Mass is held, followed by the blessing of Gloucester’s fishing fleet.