A love letter to St. Peter's Fiesta
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TODAY'S STARTING POINT
On Tuesday night, I was in the St. Peter's Club in Gloucester, when I heard it for the first time this year.
'Me chi samiou, dute mute!'
a guy sitting at the bar suddenly shouted.
'Viva San Pietro!'
everyone responded.
'Me chi samiou, dute mute!'
he shouted even louder this time, since what he's asking translates to, 'What are we, mute?'
Advertisement
'Viva San Pietro!'
the bar shouted back.
And just like that, I got that feeling of surprise again. The same feeling I get every year when St. Peter's Fiesta gets rolling, and I'm astonished to feel how deeply I've come to love this weird and wonderful and how-is-this-still-legal festival.
I've been fortunate to cover many of the great annual events in New England, but St. Peter's Fiesta — which honors the patron saint of fishermen and will be at its peak this weekend — is easily my favorite. And I can assure you I did not see that coming when my family moved to Cape Ann 13 years ago.
I knew of its signature event, the 'greasy pole' competition where lunatics risk tooth and rib attempting to walk across a Crisco-covered 40-foot-long telephone pole to grasp a flag that is said to hold eternal glory.
Advertisement
We live next door in Essex, and when my kids were little, we'd take them down to watch the greasy pole — which takes place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday each year — then go to the carnival, eat ice cream, that sorta thing. It was festive. It was on the ocean. It was the last week of June. There was a lot to like, but we were just visitors.
But it wasn't until 2017, when I embedded with the greasy pole walkers
My buddy Sandy got me in with the pole walkers. He's a former champ. That means something in Gloucester, and he vouched for me with his cousin Vinny, who runs the pole on Fridays, when the young newcomers walk. And the first thing Vinny did on Friday was take all these young guys to Peter Frontiero's house — he's the winningest pole walker of all time, known by the nickname Peter Black — for a blessing of the feet.
When a couple of the guys were acting up a little, Vinny laid right into them. 'This is Peter Black's house! Show some respect.'
They shut right up. And I stood there, with my notebook, having one of those moments where life feels like a movie.
This whole thing meant something. I knew that; but now I felt it, and continued to feel it as I spent all three days on the platform with the walkers. Watching from the beach, it's easy to think the whole thing is a bit gimmicky, almost cartoonish. But behind the scenes, it's necessarily real. Because that pole is legitimately dangerous. I stood inches away from each person as they were preparing to make their first steps, and I can assure you that every one of them was somewhere between scared and terrified.
Advertisement
Some people take a couple of steps and kinda jump off. But for those who really want it, who look down that pole at that flag 40 feet away and picture being carried up the beach after they grab it,
mean
something to you. And that made Fiesta mean something to me.
I declined a chance to walk the pole. Not because I was terrified, but because it wouldn't be the greasy pole if they let some guy walk it just because he's a Globe reporter. That's a gimmick. The pole is for Gloucestermen (
But a couple of years ago, I accepted a chance to be part of the other great Fiesta competition, the one that is woefully underappreciated in the shadow of the made-for-TV mayhem of the pole:
These are wooden boats that carry 10 rowers, a coach, and a skuller (who steers the boat). The race leaves from Pavilion Beach, right in front of the greasy pole platform, goes a half mile out into the harbor, around a buoy, and then back to the beach.
Advertisement
The races often come down to inches, and one year I had tears in my eyes when I watched a group of moms I know from the gym win the women's race by a nose.
A group of moms won the women's seine boat race at St. Peter's Fiesta in Gloucester in 2017.
Erika Wall
My race did not go so well. We were all new rowers and you get only a few days to practice on the boats, so we got justifiably smoked in our preliminary race.
The race took us about 12 minutes, and those were the most physically grueling 12 minutes of my life. The oars are like holding a telephone pole. The pace is essentially all-out. You will tear ab muscles you didn't even know you had. And you can't miss a stroke because the guys next to you are depending on you.
That meant something to all of us. We were part of something. We were part of Fiesta.
Though I'm not rowing this year, I continue to feel a deepening connection to this festival that feels very out-of-time. And so on Tuesday I went down to the St. Peter's Club with the guys from my boat, The Cut, drank $3 beers while we waited for them to draw the heats for this year, and when called upon, answered the chant asking if we were mute.
Viva!
Viva!
Viva!
Viva!
Viva!
Viva!
🧩
1 Across:
71°
POINTS OF INTEREST
Market Basket battle:
After staying quiet for the past few weeks, the sole Market Basket board member who is loyal to sidelined chief executive Arthur T. Demoulas
Advertisement
Vaccine crackdown:
Newton Public Schools will not allow
Abuse horrors:
A staggering number of
Political ties:
The mayor of Boston and the likely next speaker of the Massachusetts House have a long friendship
Holyoke Public Schools:
The district will be
Mamdani attacked:
Prominent MAGA-aligned commentators launched xenophobic attacks on Zohran Mamdani over the state lawmaker's Muslim religion after his apparent Democratic primary win in the New York City mayoral race. (
US representative plea:
Democrat LaMonica McIver of New Jersey pleaded not guilty to charges she assaulted and interfered with immigration officers at a detention center during a congressional oversight visit with two other lawmakers. (
NATO mixed bag:
In a win for Trump, European allies at the NATO summit agreed to increase their defense spending, but there was no meaningful assistance for Ukraine or discussion of threats from Russia and China. (
Kilmar Abrego Garcia:
The man mistakenly deported to El Salvador and returned to the US to face federal charges will remain in custody until at least Friday. But then he's likely to go into ICE custody for deportation proceedings. (
Big bucks:
Lionel Messi is the highest-paid player in Major League Soccer for the third straight year with total annual compensation of $20.4 million. That's more than the entire payroll of 21 teams. (
Advertisement
BESIDE THE POINT
By Teresa Hanafin
🧒
Mark of joy:
Her family insisted on removing a 'bad-luck' mole on her face when she was young. But she'll never force her daughter
💍
Tacky:
You are cordially invited to critique Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding invitation to their nuptials in Venice. It looks like they outsourced it to a kindergarten art class. (
💦
Miss Conduct Classic:
Their neighbors treat their backyard pool like community property. How can they end
🍹
Seasonal sips:
What makes the perfect summer drink? Here are some cocktails and mocktails to keep you cool in the hot sun. (
🇨🇦
O Canada:
Last year, Kari Bodnarchuk gained Canadian citizenship through her ancestry (her father was born there).
🪈
Pipeline:
Plumbers around the region rely on the deep knowledge of Jim Cain, an 80-year-old
Thanks for reading Starting Point.
This newsletter was edited by
❓ Have a question for the team? Email us at
✍🏼 If someone sent you this newsletter, you can
📬 Delivered Monday through Friday.
Billy Baker can be reached at
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A love letter to St. Peter's Fiesta
Write to us at . To subscribe, . TODAY'S STARTING POINT On Tuesday night, I was in the St. Peter's Club in Gloucester, when I heard it for the first time this year. 'Me chi samiou, dute mute!' a guy sitting at the bar suddenly shouted. 'Viva San Pietro!' everyone responded. 'Me chi samiou, dute mute!' he shouted even louder this time, since what he's asking translates to, 'What are we, mute?' Advertisement 'Viva San Pietro!' the bar shouted back. And just like that, I got that feeling of surprise again. The same feeling I get every year when St. Peter's Fiesta gets rolling, and I'm astonished to feel how deeply I've come to love this weird and wonderful and how-is-this-still-legal festival. I've been fortunate to cover many of the great annual events in New England, but St. Peter's Fiesta — which honors the patron saint of fishermen and will be at its peak this weekend — is easily my favorite. And I can assure you I did not see that coming when my family moved to Cape Ann 13 years ago. I knew of its signature event, the 'greasy pole' competition where lunatics risk tooth and rib attempting to walk across a Crisco-covered 40-foot-long telephone pole to grasp a flag that is said to hold eternal glory. Advertisement We live next door in Essex, and when my kids were little, we'd take them down to watch the greasy pole — which takes place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday each year — then go to the carnival, eat ice cream, that sorta thing. It was festive. It was on the ocean. It was the last week of June. There was a lot to like, but we were just visitors. But it wasn't until 2017, when I embedded with the greasy pole walkers My buddy Sandy got me in with the pole walkers. He's a former champ. That means something in Gloucester, and he vouched for me with his cousin Vinny, who runs the pole on Fridays, when the young newcomers walk. And the first thing Vinny did on Friday was take all these young guys to Peter Frontiero's house — he's the winningest pole walker of all time, known by the nickname Peter Black — for a blessing of the feet. When a couple of the guys were acting up a little, Vinny laid right into them. 'This is Peter Black's house! Show some respect.' They shut right up. And I stood there, with my notebook, having one of those moments where life feels like a movie. This whole thing meant something. I knew that; but now I felt it, and continued to feel it as I spent all three days on the platform with the walkers. Watching from the beach, it's easy to think the whole thing is a bit gimmicky, almost cartoonish. But behind the scenes, it's necessarily real. Because that pole is legitimately dangerous. I stood inches away from each person as they were preparing to make their first steps, and I can assure you that every one of them was somewhere between scared and terrified. Advertisement Some people take a couple of steps and kinda jump off. But for those who really want it, who look down that pole at that flag 40 feet away and picture being carried up the beach after they grab it, mean something to you. And that made Fiesta mean something to me. I declined a chance to walk the pole. Not because I was terrified, but because it wouldn't be the greasy pole if they let some guy walk it just because he's a Globe reporter. That's a gimmick. The pole is for Gloucestermen ( But a couple of years ago, I accepted a chance to be part of the other great Fiesta competition, the one that is woefully underappreciated in the shadow of the made-for-TV mayhem of the pole: These are wooden boats that carry 10 rowers, a coach, and a skuller (who steers the boat). The race leaves from Pavilion Beach, right in front of the greasy pole platform, goes a half mile out into the harbor, around a buoy, and then back to the beach. Advertisement The races often come down to inches, and one year I had tears in my eyes when I watched a group of moms I know from the gym win the women's race by a nose. A group of moms won the women's seine boat race at St. Peter's Fiesta in Gloucester in 2017. Erika Wall My race did not go so well. We were all new rowers and you get only a few days to practice on the boats, so we got justifiably smoked in our preliminary race. The race took us about 12 minutes, and those were the most physically grueling 12 minutes of my life. The oars are like holding a telephone pole. The pace is essentially all-out. You will tear ab muscles you didn't even know you had. And you can't miss a stroke because the guys next to you are depending on you. That meant something to all of us. We were part of something. We were part of Fiesta. Though I'm not rowing this year, I continue to feel a deepening connection to this festival that feels very out-of-time. And so on Tuesday I went down to the St. Peter's Club with the guys from my boat, The Cut, drank $3 beers while we waited for them to draw the heats for this year, and when called upon, answered the chant asking if we were mute. Viva! Viva! Viva! Viva! Viva! Viva! 🧩 1 Across: 71° POINTS OF INTEREST Market Basket battle: After staying quiet for the past few weeks, the sole Market Basket board member who is loyal to sidelined chief executive Arthur T. Demoulas Advertisement Vaccine crackdown: Newton Public Schools will not allow Abuse horrors: A staggering number of Political ties: The mayor of Boston and the likely next speaker of the Massachusetts House have a long friendship Holyoke Public Schools: The district will be Mamdani attacked: Prominent MAGA-aligned commentators launched xenophobic attacks on Zohran Mamdani over the state lawmaker's Muslim religion after his apparent Democratic primary win in the New York City mayoral race. ( US representative plea: Democrat LaMonica McIver of New Jersey pleaded not guilty to charges she assaulted and interfered with immigration officers at a detention center during a congressional oversight visit with two other lawmakers. ( NATO mixed bag: In a win for Trump, European allies at the NATO summit agreed to increase their defense spending, but there was no meaningful assistance for Ukraine or discussion of threats from Russia and China. ( Kilmar Abrego Garcia: The man mistakenly deported to El Salvador and returned to the US to face federal charges will remain in custody until at least Friday. But then he's likely to go into ICE custody for deportation proceedings. ( Big bucks: Lionel Messi is the highest-paid player in Major League Soccer for the third straight year with total annual compensation of $20.4 million. That's more than the entire payroll of 21 teams. ( Advertisement BESIDE THE POINT By Teresa Hanafin 🧒 Mark of joy: Her family insisted on removing a 'bad-luck' mole on her face when she was young. But she'll never force her daughter 💍 Tacky: You are cordially invited to critique Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding invitation to their nuptials in Venice. It looks like they outsourced it to a kindergarten art class. ( 💦 Miss Conduct Classic: Their neighbors treat their backyard pool like community property. How can they end 🍹 Seasonal sips: What makes the perfect summer drink? Here are some cocktails and mocktails to keep you cool in the hot sun. ( 🇨🇦 O Canada: Last year, Kari Bodnarchuk gained Canadian citizenship through her ancestry (her father was born there). 🪈 Pipeline: Plumbers around the region rely on the deep knowledge of Jim Cain, an 80-year-old Thanks for reading Starting Point. This newsletter was edited by ❓ Have a question for the team? Email us at ✍🏼 If someone sent you this newsletter, you can 📬 Delivered Monday through Friday. Billy Baker can be reached at
