Another fine crowd filed into the Holy Angels Church hall Saturday night for the parish’s annual Italian Food Festival. No one went home disappointed.

Longtime parishioner Irene Ruggieri and her sister, Marie Raso, both spoke highly of the quality of this particular church event.

“I’ve come to this Festival ever year,” said Ms. Ruggieri, “and that goes back to the days of the old Summer Festival. It’s always been a wonderful parish event.”

Now living in Warren, Marie Raso hasn’t forgotten her roots.

“I’m a former parishioner here at Holy Angels,” she said, “and I love coming back here for events like this. “Plus, it’s the best food in town.”

The kitchen staff, as has been the case throughout this parish’s long history, was busy preparing the sumptuous food for hungry patrons. The food, as expected, was superb. As usual, Italian, as well as American food favorites, spiced up the menu. Included were sliced pizza, baked pasta, meatballs, pasta e fagioli (pasta & beans), sausage and peppers, eggplant parmigiana, spinach calzones, creamy pesto tortellini, fried mozzarella sticks, and other tasty offerings.

There was also a baked goods table (manned by parishioners Josh and Jacquie Mazick) featuring a variety of fine pastries. 

Holy Angels Church, for as long as anyone can remember, has always been known for its festive celebration and reverence during its Feast of the Assumption. The Italian Food Festival, now in its fourth year, is an offshoot of the famed Summer Festival, which was held previously. The carnival-type atmosphere may have changed, but the food product has remained first class.

Special drawings were held later in the evening, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly.

This year, there was a jewelry sale table, which was a new festival feature, and Barbara St. Angelo and her kitchen staff were at their very best once again.

Holy Angels Social Events Committee member Shawn DeHart said everything ran pretty smoothly.

“The parishioner volunteers who, with their homemade goodies, made sure the dessert table was overflowing,” he noted, “and the Vieste Rosa jewelry sale went well.

“Members of the Bishop Hickey Council of the Knights of Columbus also stepped up to help with putting away all the tables and chairs after the event,” he added.

In addition to the feature raffle (grand prize: $500 Jackpot), some of the most popular raffle prizes of the night included a Kindle donated by the Bishop Hickey Council of the Knights of Columbus, RI Comic Con admission tickets, a Dooney & Bourke shoulder bag, Red Sox fan package, a 3-month membership for the Bayside YMCA, a $100 Shaw's Supermarket gift card donated by Clara DeSpirito and her daughters, and a $100 Camille's Restaurant gift card.

"As you can imagine,” said Mr. DeHart, “a lot of work goes into this night. When the other committee members and I looked out across the hall and saw the crowd and saw that everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, we all agreed that our efforts were worth it." 

Barbara St. Angelo, who heads the kitchen crew for all the parish social events, added: "It was a great night. We want to thank everyone who helped in any way and thank everyone for coming."