The festival of San Gennaro takes place for the 98th time

Danny Fratta is a familiar face every year at the Festival of San Gennaro.

His family, known as “Danny on the Corner,” had had a stand at the corner of Mulberry and Grand Streets since the festival began 98 years ago. They sold torrone, Italian nougat candies.

For years, Fratta's uncle Vinny ran the stand and recently the street corner was named after him.

Fratta also prepares zeppole, fried dough balls.

The celebration is a family tradition. It basically started as a one-day street party with Italian immigrants honoring the patron saint of Naples, San Gennaro.

“It became an eleven-day, eleven-block, big, world-famous festival,” Fratta said.

Another regular customer is Lucy Spata, whose stall sells a selection of pork and beef products, including the famous sausage with paprika, which is very popular at festivals.

Spata’s family has also had a stand at the festival since the beginning.

“My heritage, my tradition, my grandmother started it and I continued it. I can't let it go now,” she said.

Visitors to the festival will also likely meet John “Baby John” DeLutro. He is the manager of Caffe Palermo and runs a pizzeria, among other things.

DeLutro has crowned himself “Cannoli King” and talks about how important it has been to keep the festival alive over the years as the neighborhood has changed.

“There are still some of us who are really going to hold on, and we're not going anywhere,” he said.

The festival is a big deal for Little Italy businesses, like Mulberry Street's La Mela restaurant, whose owners still live in the neighborhood.

“These are truly our most important 11 days of the year and they are crucial,” said John Diaz, CEO of La Mela.

The festival is a tradition for traders and companies, but also for the people who participate every year.

Keith William Richards says he has been attending the event since he was a child.

“I plan to hit every restaurant and every stall, I just can’t get enough,” Richards said.