OLD FORGE — Looking like a man who had done this before, Joe Terusso filled small openings of cannoli shells with cream with steady precision Friday night while hungry guests waited.
The secret to squeezing in the filling successfully?
“Strong hands,” he said.
Mr. Terusso, 70, was one of many members of the Felittese Association — Old Forge descendants of Italian immigrants from the village of Felitto — to help put on their 27th annual festival which started Friday and ends
Sunday.
The fest, which honors Our Lady of Constantinople, the namesake of the association’s chapel, was imported by those immigrants and started in the early 20th century. It was stopped during World War II and dormant until its resurrection in the 1980s, Mr. Terusso said.
On a chilly Friday night, the fest featured the rock cover band Six More Roads, which was blowing back the hair of people while they munched on Italian dishes such as tripe, gnocchi and meatball platters.
The Felittese Association is about 1,300 members strong now, the descendents coming a long way since their grandparents and great-grandparents rode the long boat trip across the Atlantic a century ago.
The festival mirrors one in the old village of Felitto, which will be held Sunday, Mr. Terusso said. He estimated 20,000 would come over the weekend.
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