One hundred faces grimaced, but all in good spirit, as they hoisted the 4-ton, 5-story statue of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Sunday afternoon, under the scourging sun. A variety of “dances” took place to different songs played by a band onboard the statue’s platform. As best described, the dances looked like slow motion, unified stepping with a little bounce to it. Even the priest had his moment onboard the platform as he gave a speech about how for years he has carried his people and now they are carrying him. I wondered if his testimony included the 4-ton statue his people were holding up along with their priest. Amongst the small, cheap carnival rides, vans and trucks were serving delicious sausages, pizza and fried dough. Men weaved in and out of the horde wearing green t-shirts that stated on the back, “Brooklyn is the heart of the feast….Nola is the soul,” referencing the Nolan immigrants that moved to Brooklyn in the 1800s. Anything from t-shirts to fresh hand-rolled cigars and prayer candles were being sold at the feast. Some stations were in Italian, others had a statue of the Virgin Mary where one could pray and add to the chain of money dangling from the Virgin’s hands. People were speaking Italian. Onlookers gazed in amazement as it was evident it was their first time at the Giglio feast. The feast remains open for two weeks, as I am occasionally reminded. Just yesterday, I was working in my apartment and suddenly trumpets start roaring, drums started drumming and just as I stuck my head out my window to see what was going on, a large float of the Virgin Mary rolled down my street! I looked down at the sidewalk and there was my landlord, greeting everyone he knew with that low-toned, good old Brooklyn, “Howah you?” I strolled through the feast last night with my roommate on our way home from a walk. The streets were filled with teenagers hanging out, eating pizza and smoking cigarettes. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel stood at the top of her 4-story tower, resting in a dark corner, overlooking her carnival. And the show is far from over yet!! I love Brooklyn. -Courtney Centeno, account executive