Celebrate the Holidays in Marion County!
Make the most of your trip to Marion County by visiting our Feast of the Seven Fishes itinerary.
Join us December 13-15 for a special weekend of events observing the area’s Italian heritage.
Feast of the Seven Fishes Festival History
In 2005, Marion County native Robert “Bob” Tinnel published his graphic novel, ‘Feast of the Seven Fishes,’ based on his experiences of growing up in an Italian-American family, specifically the Christmas Eve tradition of the same name that consists of a meatless meal with several seafood courses. Feast of the Seven Fishes, also known as Vigilia di Natale (or La Vigilia), is said to observe the wait until the midnight birth of the baby Jesus. The next year, 2006, Tinnell and his wife, Shannon Colaianni Tinnell, collaborated with Main Street Fairmont and the community to organize the first Feast of the Seven Fishes Festival in Fairmont. The event has continued ever since, and thousands attend each year. The Feast of the Seven Fishes Festival has been named a Top 20 Event for December by the Southeast Tourism Society.
‘Feast of the Seven Fishes’ Film
A film version of ‘Feast of the Seven Fishes’ written and directed by Tinnell and based on his book was shot in West Virginia. Its release date is November 15, 2019. The cast includes Skyler Gisondo, Madison Iseman, Josh Helman, Addison Timlin, Ray Abruzzo, Paul Ben-Victor, Joe Pantoliano, Andrew Schulz, Lynn Cohen and Jessica Darrow. More information can be found here: https://feastofthesevenfishesmovie.com/.
Take a tour of Marion County and see the sites featured in Robert Tinnell’s film,
Learn how to cook the seven signature dishes — spicy shrimp, fried smelt, linguine with clam sauce, whiting salad, baccala balls, spicy mussels, stuffed calamari — prepared in the ‘Feast of the Seven Fishes’ film by watching the video clips below.