FORT LEE, N.J. — One of Fort Lee’s oldest and most recognizable traditions is once again filling the heart of the borough with music, food, carnival games and visitors as the 97th Annual Saint Rocco Feast continues.
This year’s festival runs from August 5 through August 9 at 110 Main Street in Fort Lee, bringing together generations of local families as well as visitors from across Bergen County and surrounding areas. Admission is free.
But the Saint Rocco Feast is much more than another summer street festival.
Its roots reach back nearly a century and tell part of the story of the Italian immigrants who helped shape Fort Lee.
A Fort Lee Tradition Since 1929
The organization behind the festival, the Saint Rocco Italian-American Mutual Aid Society, was founded in 1927 by Italian immigrants from Calabria, a region in southern Italy.
Two years later, in 1929, the society began organizing the annual Saint Rocco Feast.
That tradition has continued through generations.
What began within Fort Lee’s Italian immigrant community gradually grew into one of the borough’s signature summer events, combining Italian-American heritage and tradition with the atmosphere of a large community festival.
The Society also has a charitable mission. According to the organization, proceeds from the feast and its other fundraising activities are donated to individuals, organizations and communities in need.
Five Nights of Food, Music and Entertainment
Today, the Saint Rocco Feast attracts people for reasons that go far beyond its historical and religious roots.
Main Street takes on a completely different atmosphere during the festival, with food stands, vendors, carnival attractions, games and live music bringing the area to life throughout the evening.
Italian food remains an important part of the celebration and a reminder of the festival’s roots, while today’s event includes a much wider variety of vendors and activities for families and children.
Italian Songs Fill the Air in Fort Lee
This year’s festival has another element that is particularly difficult to capture in a simple event announcement — the atmosphere.
The NJ RADAR team visited the festival Saturday evening, and the music wasn’t coming only from the main stage. Italian songs could be heard throughout the festival, with people even singing at some of the stands, creating an atmosphere that reflected the event’s cultural roots.
At the same time, a live concert was underway, while food stands, games, children’s activities and large crowds gave the entire festival a much more dynamic feel.
Compared with the festival several years ago, this year’s edition feels more organized, more elaborate and more sophisticated, with more music, a wider variety of stands and a stronger overall festival atmosphere.
That may be one of the most interesting characteristics of the Saint Rocco Feast today: the tradition remains recognizable, but the way it is presented is clearly continuing to evolve.
Tradition Remains an Important Part of the Festival
Despite its increasingly lively festival atmosphere, the historical and religious tradition from which the Saint Rocco Feast originated remains an important part of the event.
The annual celebration includes a procession honoring Saint Rocco, continuing a custom that has been passed down through generations of Fort Lee’s Italian-American community. Organizers have announced this year’s traditional procession for Sunday afternoon.
For families who have participated in the festival for generations, it is precisely this connection between tradition, family and Italian heritage that distinguishes the Saint Rocco Feast from an ordinary street fair.
A Festival That Has Changed Along With Fort Lee
Fort Lee looks very different today from the community in which Italian immigrants began this tradition nearly a century ago.
The borough has since developed into one of Bergen County’s most diverse communities, with residents whose families come from many parts of the world.
Yet the Saint Rocco Feast has endured.
That may be one reason the festival continues to hold a special place in Fort Lee. Although deeply rooted in Italian-American history and tradition, today’s celebration brings together people from across the community, regardless of their background.
For newer residents, it may simply be a summer evening filled with food, music and entertainment. For families who have attended for generations, it carries nearly a century of memories.
And for Fort Lee itself, it represents something that is becoming increasingly difficult to preserve in rapidly changing communities: a local tradition that has survived and been passed from one generation to the next.
This year’s atmosphere also demonstrates something else — preserving a tradition does not mean an event has to remain unchanged. The Saint Rocco Feast has maintained its roots while becoming a larger, livelier and more modern festival.
Approaching a Century
With the 97th annual celebration now underway in 2026, the Saint Rocco Feast is approaching a remarkable milestone.
If the tradition continues uninterrupted, the 100th annual Saint Rocco Feast will take place in 2029 — exactly a century after the first celebration was held in Fort Lee.
Until then, Main Street is once again doing what it has done on summer evenings for generations: filling with families, music, food and the sights and sounds of one of Fort Lee’s longest-running traditions.
And, at least judging by what could be seen and heard this year, the tradition is not simply surviving — it is evolving along with Fort Lee.
The 97th Annual Saint Rocco Feast continues through Sunday, August 9, at 110 Main Street in Fort Lee.
Sources: Saint Rocco Italian-American Mutual Aid Society; Saint Rocco Feast; Borough of Fort Lee; NJ RADAR on-site reporting.