Wanted: Ripped Volunteers To Help Lift The Enormous Giglio Statue In Williamsburg
June 14, 2019, 11:45 a.m.
The annual Giglio lift, an Italian-American tradition since 1903, is desperate for volunteers.
The annual Giglio lift.
Do you have considerable upper-body strength, love crowds, and have nothing to do in mid-July? Then please consider helping lift a gargantuan, four-ton statue in Williamsburg to keep an Italian-American tradition alive—they need a slew of sturdy, strong-willed volunteers this year to make it happen.
The Giglio lift, a mainstay in the neighborhood since 1903, is part of a Catholic festival that happens every summer in front of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel church. The Giglio Feast festivities—involving games, carnival rides, and loads of fried food—commemorate San Paolino, the patron saint of southern Italian immigrants who settled in Williamsburg in the late 19th century.
For over 115 years, the festival has involved the illustrious hoisting of the five story-tall Giglio statue, which takes over 150 people to do, and parading it along Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg. But this year, the church has been struggling to bring together a group of brawny volunteers to make the lift a reality. Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello, of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, said that for the first time ever, the church has had to ask people to volunteer their arms and time for the event. In the past, he says, people practically lined up for the chance to lift.
“It’s gone down and down and down,” John Christopher, the capo in this year's festival, told The Wall Street Journal. “Age catches up to some people, and people have moved out.” The shifting demographics of Williamsburg are a huge part of the issue, organizers say. "We have a lot of hipsters in this neighborhood, that have come into this neighborhood, and we want to cater to them, but we want to keep our traditions also,” Gigantiello told CBS2.
The church is reportedly seeking roughly 60 volunteers to help round out the estimated 180 that it takes to boost this bad boy. If that sounds like something you'd like to do, send an email to OLMCFeastLifters@gmail.com.
The festival is located at 275 North 8th Street at Havemeyer Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It takes place from July 10th through the 21st, with the first Giglio lift happening on Sunday, July 14th. There will also be a Night Lift (on the 17th) and an Old Timers lift on the final day of the festival.
