{"id":321381,"date":"2026-06-27T00:43:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T00:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/321381\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T00:43:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T00:43:39","slug":"how-and-why-to-go-to-st-peters-fiesta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/321381\/","title":{"rendered":"How (and why) to go to St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta"},"content":{"rendered":"

Write to us at startingpoint@globe.com<\/a>. To subscribe, sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time again for my favorite weekend of the year \u2014 St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta in Gloucester, that strange, endearing, greasy, and somehow-still-legal festival to honor the patron saint of fishermen. <\/p>\n

Fiesta is famous for its Greasy Pole competition \u2014 where lunatics walk across a horizontal telephone pole extending over the ocean, attempting to grab a flag on the end while slipping and sliding their way through Crisco and all sorts of slimy stuff. Only one person will get the flag. The rest will wipeout dramatically.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written about<\/a> this festival a few times<\/a> over the years, and readers always hit me up with logistical questions, because the truth is the whole thing is kind of confusing if you\u2019re not a local, the official website looks like it was made on a Commodore 64 (which is part of the charm), and parking is a free-for-all (but doable). So herein is my guide to a day trip to Fiesta (and my urging to do it once in your life; there really is nothing else like it).<\/p>\n

\"JoeJoe DaSilva falls off during the Greasy Pole Contest at Pavilion Beach on June 29, 2025.<\/p>\n

Where: Your goal is to get to Pavilion Beach by 4:45 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. The Greasy Pole has different competitors each day, and there\u2019s a complicated system to explain that, but for a visitor it doesn\u2019t matter which night you go. Get to the beach by 4:45 (it\u2019s right behind the Beauport Hotel<\/a>) and you\u2019ll get the full experience.<\/p>\n

Parking: Let\u2019s make this easy to get in and out. Take exit 53 off Route 128, then aim your car toward the Gloucester movie theater at 74 Essex Ave. As you get close, you will start seeing cars parked up and down both sides of that road. Join them. From there, it\u2019s a short walk to Western Avenue, the waterfront promenade locals call \u201cthe boulevard.\u201d The harbor in front of you will be full of boats. You\u2019ll hear the noise coming from Pavilion Beach off to the left. You\u2019re basically there.<\/p>\n

Get stuck at The Cut: You\u2019re probably gonna experience another Gloucester tradition as you walk down the boulevard, which is waiting at a bridge that goes over a narrow canal. It goes up and down constantly to let boats pass between the Annisquam River and Gloucester Harbor, but relish it if you get caught, for this is a famously treacherous crossing for boaters and there\u2019s a popular Instagram account<\/a> devoted to the mayhem that happens going through The Cut.<\/p>\n

Go to the beach: The tide will be low all three days, which means you\u2019ll have more room on the beach and the pole walkers will have more distance to fall. Both of these are good for you, because there will be thousands of people down there. Again, part of the charm. I\u2019ve been taking my children since they were toddlers, and I\u2019ve never felt any stress on that beach. Out in the harbor, the water will be crowded with boats anchored up and getting Spring Break-rowdy, but I\u2019ve never seen anything to worry about on the beach.<\/p>\n

Watch the Seine boat races: Before the pole starts, there will be the Seine boat races, woefully underappreciated by visitors but sacred in Gloucester. Seine boats are hulking crafts they once used to gather fishing nets offshore, and they weigh as much as a Zamboni. There will be three boats, each with 10 rowers, who will set off from the beach, go a half mile out, turn around a buoy, then race back to the sand, where there is often a photo finish as they plow into the beach. Having rowed in these races in the past, I can\u2019t begin to describe how physically grueling these 10-12 minutes are on your body. The women race on Friday, then the men on Saturday and Sunday.<\/p>\n

Time for the mayhem: When the Seine boat race ends, the Greasy Pole begins. No one can grab the flag during the first round, so the competitors will be wearing ridiculous costumes and doing their best to try to plow some of the grease off the pole. In the second round, it\u2019s live, and it will go until someone gets the flag. Some years, this happens quickly. Other years, it seems like no one will ever get the thing. Regardless, it\u2019s always entertaining, and the winner will be carried up the beach on the shoulders of their competitors, then around the corner to a shrine where they will be immortalized forever.<\/p>\n

Join the chant: Several times you\u2019re going to hear someone scream out \u201cMe chi samiou, dute mute!\u201d You won\u2019t know what they\u2019re saying (it means: \u201cWhat are we, mute?\u201d) but then you\u2019ll hear the whole crowd respond \u201cViva San Pietro!\u201d This call and response will happen three times. Join in, then you\u2019ll get to the fun part. The caller will yell \u201cViva!\u201d You\u2019ll yell \u201cViva!\u201d Do that three times and now and forever, you\u2019ll have been a part of Fiesta. Even though you\u2019ll never be able to fully explain what it is.<\/p>\n

Go to the carnival: Just off the beach is a carnival. Everyone flows there after the Greasy Pole. And who doesn\u2019t love a carnival?<\/p>\n

Actually, forget I asked that. Just go to Fiesta. You\u2019ll love it or your money back. (It\u2019s free.) Viva!<\/p>\n

\ud83e\udde9 8 Across: Aware of<\/a> | \ud83c\udf26\ufe0f 78\u00b0 Storm\u2019s coming<\/a><\/p>\n

Spotlight on housing grants: A state official gave a grant to two young developers who sold him a house. Shoddy work and fake invoices followed, the Globe Spotlight Team reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Requiem for \u2018the last great mommy blogger\u2019: Swampscott native Jill Smokler, founder of the influential and essential website Scary Mommy, has died of cancer. Smokler, 48, \u201cmade motherhood less lonely by telling the truth about it,\u201d Kara Baskin writes in remembrance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

No Scotland, no party? Legions of international World Cup revelers have given Greater Boston\u2019s nightlife a shot in the arm. Will the city keep up the momentum, and shake its buzzkill reputation<\/a>?<\/p>\n

\u2018More people will die\u2019: Sonia Sotomayor<\/a>, Maura Healey, and Michelle Wu are among the leaders decrying the Supreme Court\u2019s<\/a> latest decision endorsing Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n

Playing favorites: Boston already has several sister cities. But the newest in the queue \u2014 Glasgow, Scotland \u2014 could have a case as the favorite sibling, Christopher Muther writes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The grass really is greener: NFL players are fuming over the temporary installation of natural grass fields in football stadiums hosting the World Cup. Will the league listen<\/a>?<\/p>\n

\"AA speaker performs at the Roxbury Poetry Festival.Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc6 Pride, poetry, and outdoor movies: Your definitive guide to everything fun around the region this weekend<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\udd70 That\u2019s one way to get a phone number: \u201cI was not going to flirt with this man in his LinkedIn DMs,\u201d and more scenes from our Dinner with Cupid<\/a> blind date.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa Yes, two different kinds of \u2018Avatar\u2019: Plus a Paul Simon concert film<\/a>, an X-Men throwback, and a new series starring (checks notes) surrealist comedian Eric Andr\u00e9 and former WWE star John Cena, for your viewing pleasure.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude8c Prepare the purple print dresses! Elizabeth Banks is reportedly set to star in a live-action reboot of beloved PBS kids\u2019 show \u201cThe Magic School Bus<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading Starting Point.<\/p>\n

This newsletter was edited by Curt Woodward<\/a> and produced by Ryan Orlecki<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2753 Have a question for the team? Email us at startingpoint@globe.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u270d\ud83c\udffc If someone sent you this newsletter, you can sign up for your own copy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcec Delivered Monday through Friday.<\/p>\n

Billy Baker can be reached at billy.baker@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him on Instagram @billy_baker<\/a>.<\/p>\n