For some people, La Festa Italiana is like a trip back in time, partly because it harkens back to an era when Italian immigrants dominated downtown Jersey City. While in recent years, some of the religious aspects of the traditional feast have been cut back in order to accommodate a whole new population to that part of the city, Nicholas Grillo, one of the organizers, assured that not all the tradition is gone.

“We still have some religious ceremonies, but in many ways, the festival tries to provide entertainment for the new community that is less religious than in the past,” Grillo said. This year, the festival, which started in 1902, will run from August 9 through August 13 and once again on Sixth Street between Brunswick and Monmouth Street. The festival runs each of these days from 5:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m.