Cranston's Festival Of St. Mary Starts Wednesday

CRANSTON, RI — St. Mary's Festival, an annual celebration of Italian food and culture, will take over Cranston this weekend. Starting Wednesday, food, rides and entertainment will abound, with fireworks and a parade on Sunday.

The festival kicks off on Wednesday evening on Cranston Street with a performance by the Ambrosiani Italian-American Band. There will be live performances each night of the festival, along with games and rides by Rockwell Amusements.

On Sunday, the traditional procession at St. Mary's Church will begin at 11:30 a.m. That night, the festival will close out with fireworks.

Throughout the five-day festival, there will be parking restrictions in the area. Parking is restricted in the following areas from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m:

• Cranston Street: west side, from the southern end of Phenix Avenue to the gazebo area.
• Phenix Anenue: both sides from Cranston Street to Green Avenue.
• Greene Avenue: east side from Phenix Avenue to Randall Street.
• Briggs Street: south side from Cranston Street to Greene Avenue.
• Randall Street: both sides from Cranston Street to Atwood Avenue.

To make sure everyone is safe and obeying festival rules, Cranston police officers will be patrolling the area of foot, bicycles and in cruisers. The department asked festival participants and residents to keep the area clear of cars to make sure emergency vehicles can get through if needed.

Two RIPTA routes will be detoured to accommodate the festival.

Route 17 (Dyer/Pocasset):

Inbound trips will travel the regular route to Atwood Avenue, turn left onto Atwood Avenue, right onto Cranston Street and then resume regular route.

Outbound trips will travel the regular route to Park Avenue and Cranston Street, left onto Cranston Street to the rotary, right onto Atwood Avenue and then resume regular route to Stop & Shop.

Route 30 (Arlington/Oaklawn):

Inbound trips will travel the regular route to the Cranston Street, turn right onto Cranston Street, left onto Park Avenue, right onto Dyer Street and then resume regular route.

Outbound trips will travel the regular route to the intersection of Cranston and Dyer Streets, left onto Dyer Street, right onto Park Avenue, left onto Cranston Street and then resume regular route.