LIFTING
SPIRITS
Thousands fl ood streets of
Williamsburg for fi rst dance of
Giglio since COVID pandemic
BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK &
BEN BRACHFELD
Brooklyn’s storied Giglio
Feast made its triumphant return
this week and on Sunday,
July 11, revelers took to the
streets to celebrate the fi rst
“dancing of the Giglio.”
The 12-day feast, offi cially
known as the Feast of Our
Lady of Mount Carmel after
the eponymous church in Williamsburg,
began on July 7
and will run through July 18.
Sunday’s procession marked
the feast’s main event, and
also included the annual boat
parade followed by an “oldtimer’s
lift” after the closing
ceremony.
The feast is centered
around a huge, seven-storytall,
four-ton tower, the namesake
Giglio, which is made of
aluminum, adorned with papier
mache fl owers, angels,
and religious fi gures. Several
times over the course of
the feast, the tower is lifted
by over 100 men and walked
around in the streets of Williamsburg,
complete with a
brass band performance at the
tower’s base.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
has organized the feast since
the 1950s. In 2019, the festival
almost didn’t go on when the
church faced a shortage of volunteers
to carry the Giglio
(pronounced jeel-e-o), but eventually
managed to recruit lifters
from outside the parish.
The feast’s hiatus in 2020
(Top left) Joe Martino, left, and Joey Langone smile during the feast.
(Above) The tower. Photos by Caroline Ourso
INSIDE
Your entertainment
guide Page 17
Police Blotter ..........................8
Health ......................................10
Opinion .................................... 12
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