Every year, the residents of East Cambridge gather at the intersection of Porter Street and Warren Street to celebrate the Feast of Saint Cosmas and Damian, a festival brought by Italian immigrants from the town of Gaeta in 1926. The 98th annual celebration took place the weekend of Sept. 8 to 10, and we sent a team of photographers to cover it.
The members of the Saints Cosmas and Damian Society gather in the chapel on Porter Street in East Cambridge. The land where this chapel now stands was purchased in the 1940s by a group of women led by Marietta Colarutolo.
In the 1920s, Colarutolo and other local women had organized a group that would periodically gather to pray to the patron saints of their city, Gaeta. As the group grew, they called for life-sized statues of Saints Cosmas and Damian to be sent from their homeland.
Every year, the Society parades the statues around East Cambridge on the weekend after labor day. Saints Cosmas and Damian are the patron saints of medicine. Attendees pray to the saints and pin money to the statues, asking for favors and healing.
A member of the Saints Cosmas and Damian Society pins money to the statues of the patron saints at the chapel in East Cambridge.
When it began, the Society and feast were predominantly attended by Italian families. But over time, that has changed.
The society now has more than 100 members of all nationalities and ethnicities.
"We've tried to attract a wider audience," Sal DiDomenico, the president of the Society says, adding that their membership is also very young. “We are probably at one of the highest points we’ve ever been at.”
A carnival game vendor sits at his booth on Warren Street, awaiting players.
Dozens of local businesses participate in the festival, from carnival attractions to local eateries.
By Ben Y. Cammarata
A vendor blows bubbles into the street to attract the attention of festival attendees.
DiDomenico says that the festival costs upwards of $150,000 to put on each year. The event has dozens of sponsors, including Harvard and MIT.
By Ben Y. Cammarata
Between rounds of balloon-popping, a vendor has a moment of rest before the next participants arrive.
By Ben Y. Cammarata
As a result of their large immigrant populations and the festival, Cambridge and Somerville are sister cities with Gaeta, Italy.
A priest prepares to lead the procession of the statues on Friday evening in front of the chapel.
Members of the society prepare to lift the statues as dozens of attendees congregate on the sidewalks.
As a kid, DiDomenico followed his father — who was president of the Society — during the festival each year. After his father passed away, Sal took over running the festival. Now, his two teenage sons participate in the festival.
A young boy admires another carnival ride as he rides one himself. Another reaches out to high-five his father aboard one of the carnival rides at the festival. These rides were popular with small children attending the festival: despite the rain, they lined up for a turn on the “Wave Runner.”
After the procession, the statues are placed on display on Warren Street. The priest leads a general intercession and attendees line up to be anointed with holy water and to pin money onto the statues.
Members of the Saints Cosmas and Damian Society place the statues of the saints into a brightly lit alter on Warren Street.
By Ben Y. Cammarata
A tender embrace between two festival attendees as they wait in front of the statue display on Warren Street.
By Ben Y. Cammarata
"My hope is that we have young people that are involved and keep getting involved," says DiDomenico. He adds that he hopes "their kids and their grandkids will continue this tradition that was started 100 years ago."
By Ben Y. Cammarata
After the final procession on Sunday, local band Smokin’ Joe & the Henchmen play ’70s hits on a stage at the end of Warren Street.