For around ninety years our community’s St. Mary of the Snow Society has honored the town of Sanza’s patron saint with a parade that winds through the streets of Williamsburg on August 5th. This year will be no different. August 5th is chosen due to the belief in the miracle that a patch of snow was recorded to have been found near Rome on August 5th in the year 359 A.D. – a rather astonishing occurrence due to the usual torrid conditions at that time of year. This documentation was found in Sanza with a statue of Our Lady, hence “Our Lady of the Snows”.
The day’s festivities begin St. Mary of the Snow Society, at (410 Graham Avenue), for the scholarship presentation ceremony. Then the society goes to celebrate mass at St. Francis of Paola church. After mass is when the parade begins. Society members will carry a statue of Our Lady of the Snow accompanied by two marching bands, colorful floats, local leaders, friends, and family along a route that will touch Conselyea St., Leonard St., Ainslie St., Manhattan Ave., Withers St., Herbert St., Kingsland Ave., Richardson St., and ends at the society’s hall on Graham Avenue in the afternoon. Come on out on August 5th and catch the parade!
This year the St. Mary of the Snow Society also celebrates its 129th anniversary, which makes it one of the oldest organizations in New York.
The Greenline 