INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — For 41 years, the smell of homemade sauce and fresh cannoli has drawn tens of thousands of people to Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Indianapolis. This weekend, the tradition continues.
Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 520 Stevens St., is hosting its annual Italian Street Festival on Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m. both nights. Entry and parking are free.
The festival, which draws roughly 40,000 guests over the weekend, has become one of the church's most important financial events of the year — accounting for 30% of its annual budget. The church, more than a century old, is located about 6 1/2 blocks southeast of downtown Indianapolis and needs ongoing maintenance.
“Our church was built in the 1900s,” Lisa Meister, the festival's kitchen master, said Friday. “There's a lot of leaks that need to be fixed.”
But the festival is about far more than finances. Holy Rosary sits in the heart of Fletcher Place and has long been a hub for community outreach in the surrounding area.
“The area has grown tremendously over the years,” event spokesperson Kay Feeney-Caito said.
41 Years in the Making
The connection to the neighborhood runs deep. Feeney-Caito once lived in a house in the parking lot of Iaria's Restaurant -- located about 1/2 mile from Holy Rosary — and the festival's signature sauce recipe reflects that history.
“If you taste our sauce recipe, it is very much like the Iaria's sauce recipe,” she said. “These are all the original recipes from the beginning of this.”
Keeping those original recipes intact while feeding tens of thousands of people is no small task.
"When you're doing this at that kind of volume of people we serve, and it's Italian flair, you have a lot of nonnas who compare and contrast their fettuccine to our fettuccine," Feeney-Caito explained.
Over the course of the event, Meister and her team of volunteers will serve fettuccine, meatballs, fried ravioli, cheesecakes, brownies, tiramisu, and a new sandwich this year. More than 7,000 cannoli were prepared for the weekend, requiring 484 bags of cream.
“We're preparing Italian classics for 40,000 people,” Feeney-Caito said. “Lisa does the most incredible job getting food out and preparing the variety.”
Meister says she has worked to preserve what makes the festival's food special while adapting where needed.
“I've kept it pretty much original. We've tried to keep up with the times and do things faster and better.”
Fried raviolis are among the most popular items, with two dedicated food booths — one in the park and one in the parking lot.
What to Know Before You Go
Guests pay for food and drinks using tickets purchased at one of three ticket booths on site. Look for the large “Indy” sign to find them. Booths are located on Stevens and East Street, with an additional booth at the end of Stevens.
Beer and wine are available. The festival accepts credit cards and cash, with ATMs on site.
Holy Rosary Catholic Church Italian Festival
Admission: Free
Parking: Free
When: Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m.
Where: Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 520 Stevens St., Indianapolis
