San Gennaro Feast: Your Gateway To Pasta, Pizza and Peroni

San Gennaro Feast at M Resort brings Italian flavor, faith, and family to Henderson every year. The festival celebrates Saint Januarius, Naples’ beloved protector. It mixes food, faith, and neighborhood pride into a lively Italian weekend!

History and Sacred Tradition of San Gennaro

The feast honors Saint Januarius, known in English as San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples. The festival follows a long Italian and Italian-American tradition rooted in faith. In Las Vegas, the celebration found new life with the Italian American community.

The event at the M Resort in Henderson happens every year in September. The church calendar marks his feast on September 19 each year.

The festival displays a replica urn and relic said to contain his blood. That sacred urn is a replica from Vatican City, brought from Naples, Italy. The relic has a long history of miraculous liquefaction on specific dates.

Those liquefaction dates are the first Saturday of May, September 19, and December 16. San Gennaro is celebrated as a protector of Las Vegas as well.

This local reverence folds the festival into the city’s cultural calendar, and now you can feel its history in the crowd and rituals as you move forward into the food and festivities!

Plates of Pasta, Slices of Sicily

Walking through the festival, the air feels like Italy, with Italian flags, music, and vibrant culture everywhere. The main food hall is lined with vendors serving some of the best authentic Italian dishes, making every step a taste of Naples.

A popular choice is the three-item pasta plate, a sampler that lets you try varied flavors. For my plate, I enjoyed lasagna, chicken penne alla vodka, and stuffed shells, each with a homemade texture and slow-simmered sauce.

The lasagna and stuffed shells were the highlight of my meal. The family secret sauce is something to wait in line for!

Pasta at the feast often arrives saucy, rich, and made in family-style batches. The sauces taste slow-cooked and layered with fresh herbs and tomatoes. Portions are generous, and the textures feel comforting and familiar. Choosing pasta lets you sample traditions passed down through generations.

The festival also serves Sicilian pizza, with either cheese or pepperoni as choices. Sicilian pizza stands apart because it has a thicker, airy dough cut into generous square slices. While pizza draws many eyes, longtime guests say pasta is the festival’s true highlight.

You can still find plenty of other tastes beyond Italian food if you crave variety. After filling your plate, the next stop is desserts and sweet treats waiting nearby.

Sweet Treats Straight from Italy

Sweets at the festival include classic and approachable Italian desserts for every age. You will find traditional cannolis, filled with sweet ricotta and often sprinkled with chocolate chips. A cannoli is a crisp pastry tube filled with creamy ricotta, sometimes flavored with citrus or chocolate.

The zeppole show up hot and pillowy, sometimes filled with rich Nutella. A zeppole is a fried dough ball, often dusted with sugar and sometimes filled with sweet cream or Nutella.

Italian ice offers a cold, fruity counterpoint to baked treats and fried dough.

I’m not much of a sweets person, but trying a zeppole for the first time was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted.

These desserts hit the sweet spot after a heavy pasta plate and guide visitors toward the bars and seating areas for a relaxed bite.

Bars, Cocktails, and Plenty of Seating

The festival sets up multiple bar vendors across the grounds for convenience. You can get a cocktail, beer, or other beverage without hunting far. Seating is plentiful, so small groups can sit and enjoy food together. Many shaded tables and benches encourage casual conversation and slow meals.

The layout makes it easy to carry plates to a table and return for more. After dessert and drinks, families often drift toward rides and live music nearby.

A Carnival Within the Feast

San Gennaro Feast makes space for families with a carnival-style section full of motion and sound. Live music plays on outdoor stages throughout the day and into the evening. The ride lineup often includes a Ferris wheel, playhouse, swing chairs, and bumper cars.

Games and smaller rides keep children entertained and engaged for hours.

These attractions create a fair-like energy that balances the food-focused areas. After enjoying rides, many visitors browse vendor stalls for souvenirs and keepsakes nearby.

Vendor Stalls Full of Culture and Craft

Across the festival grounds, vendors sell artisan goods and Italian-themed keepsakes. You can find handmade jewelry, religious items, and festival-branded mementos to take home. Buying a small souvenir helps support local and Italian-American makers.

San Gennaro Feast often welcomes celebrity guests, and when I attended, actor Frank Sivero, who played mobster Frankie Carbone in the cult classic GoodFellas, made an appearance.

These shops add texture to the experience and let visitors bring home tangible memories. When you finish browsing, the festival typically guides you toward the final call-to-action and departure with a fuller belly and lighter heart.

Ready to Join the Feast?

If you want a warm, communal Italian festival, San Gennaro at the M Resort is worth a visit. It offers history, food, music, and family rides in a relaxed package. Bring an appetite, bring patience, and expect friendly crowds and honest flavors.

Whether you come for faith, food, or cultural pride, you will find a slice of Naples in Henderson. Pack a camera for keepsakes, and plan to linger by the stages before you go!