Feast of San Gennaro at 100: 38 Cannoli in Six Minutes in Little Italy

From One Block to Eleven Days

The Feast of San Gennaro began in 1926 as a one-day block party held by Neapolitan immigrants for their patron saint. A century later, the same devotion has become an 11-day festival each mid-September along Mulberry Street between Canal and Houston. More than a million visitors now pass through the feast, a scale that would have been hard to imagine for a single-block gathering. The 2026 edition marks the feast's 100th anniversary, a rare milestone for a neighborhood tradition that started with one day and one street.

For visitors mapping ChinatownChinatownManhattan's dense, working Chinese neighborhood of markets, dumpling counters and a century and a half of history. and Little Italy, the feast is the district’s biggest calendar moment. Food stalls, religious processions, and street performances turn the Mulberry Street corridor into a long, dense walk. The event’s roots remain visible in the saint’s day origins, even as the footprint has expanded well beyond the original one-day party. The centennial in 2026 is not just a birthday, it is a measure of how a neighborhood religious observance became a citywide draw.

The 38-Cannoli Record

The feast’s signature spectacle is the annual cannoli-eating contest. Competitive eater Wayne Algenio set the standing mark in 2019 by downing 38 cannoli in six minutes. That number has become the benchmark: not just a stunt, but the clearest symbol of how a saint’s day party became a major New York event.

The contest draws crowds who come for the countdown, the mess, and the possibility of a new record. Six minutes is short enough to follow closely and long enough for the leaderboard to shift. Algenio’s 38 works out to roughly one cannoli every 9.5 seconds. The feat has survived every subsequent contest, making it the target for anyone who steps up. The feast’s contest is the kind of spectacle that gives the 11-day run a single, shareable headline.

Plan Your Visit

The feast runs for 11 days each mid-September along Mulberry Street between Canal and Houston. The 2026 edition is the 100th anniversary, so expect larger crowds than usual. Exact daily hours, procession times, and the cannoli contest schedule should be confirmed with the Feast of San Gennaro’s official schedule before traveling.

For the cannoli contest, arrive early and stay within the Mulberry Street footprint between Canal and Houston, the signature events draw the densest crowds. The 11-day run gives more scheduling options than the original one-day party. A morning in Central ParkCentral ParkThe 843-acre engineered wilderness at Manhattan's heart, designed by Olmsted and Vaux in 1858. or a walk across the Brooklyn BridgeBrooklyn BridgeThe 1883 Gothic-towered suspension bridge whose elevated walkway is the city's most famous free walk. can fill the rest of a New York day, but the feast is the reason to plan around Little Italy.

For a structured visit, a small-group Little Italy food and history walk pairs Mulberry Street landmarks with tastings, check traveler reviews on the activity page before choosing a time. The walk is often priced from $45 (estimated) per person. The feast itself remains free to enter, with food and drinks sold by vendors.

More on the place itself: chinatown little italy.