CLEVELAND — Christopher Mastrangelo is the cook at Presti’s bakery in Little Italy. 

What You Need To Know

  • Presti's Bakery sells three times the amount of cannoli during the Feast of the Assumption

  • Restaurants begin planning weeks and months in advance for the celebration

  • Holy Rosary Church is hosing the 125th anniversary of the event

He said planning for the Feast of the Assumption takes more than just a few weeks of preparation.  

“Years ago, truthfully. If it wasn’t for the experience of doing this every year, you wouldn’t have such an organized facility,” Mastrangelo said. “You can look at last year’s expenditures and see what the weather was like…and you’re able to figure all that out again nicely,” he said.

The event is a 4-day affair. Although a lot of their supplies have already come in,some of it is off-limits due to secret recipes. The cooking process will primarily occur on the day itself.

“A lot of our vegetables, those will be coming in daily. We’ll be cutting peppers and onions every day,” Mastrangelo said.

The bakery averages about 300 cannoli on any given day throughout the year. That number triples during each day of the feast.

But the event is more than just a time to eat amazing food. It begins with a holy day for Catholics.

The assumption is the doctrine of the church which believes that Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, was assumed body and soul into heaven upon her death, according to Fr. Joseph Previte, pastor at Holy Rosary Church in Little Italy. The parish sponsors the yearly event. This is its 125th anniversary.

The church kicks off the celebration with a procession through Little Italy to honor the mother of Jesus Christ .

Days ahead of the event, crews were preparing tents and delivering products to restaurants.

Mastrangelo said there’s more to the event than just the food. His favorite part?

“The comaraderie and the people. Being able to see old friends and enjoying everyone else’s food,” he said.

The event will be held Thursday, Aug. 15 noon to 10:30 p.m, Friday, Aug. 16 6 p.m. to midnight, Saturday, Aug. 17 noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday, August 18 noon to 10 p.m.