LAWRENCE — Food and friends go hand in hand with the Feast of the Three Saints, the city's 85th annual three-day celebration that wrapped up yesterday.

"I don't get to see my old friends that much," said Linda Borrelli of Salem, N.H., after catching up with a pal on Common Street.

Like many Lawrence natives, Borrelli now resides outside the city. She has returned for the feast for the past dozen years or so.

The aroma of sausage, marinara sauce and fried dough filled the air. One popular favorite is crispelli, a concoction of flour, yeast, salt, baking powder and your choice of ricotta cheese, sugar or anchovies.

"You can't get 'em anywhere but here," said Borrelli's husband, Ralph.

The festival is held in honor of three brothers, Alfio, Cirino and Filadelfo, who were persecuted by the Romans and died rather than renounce their faith more than 1,700 years ago.

Sicilian immigrants who came to Lawrence started re-creating celebrations from their homeland, giving birth to the city's annual Feast of the Three Saints in the early 1920s.

One thing the founders didn't have was Guitar Hero. This year, the Lawrence Sons of Italy Lodge 902 set up the popular video game under its tent, and young people eagerly used the toy guitar to jam to rock songs.

A member of the Sons of Italy saw the game at the mall and thought it would be good for the festival, said Armand Buonanno, president of the group.

The point was "just to have something for the kids," he said.

At 3 p.m. yesterday, hundreds of people stood in front of Holy Rosary Church at 35 Essex St. and held their hands in the air, shouting "Viva Saint Alfio," which means "long live Saint Alfio."

The statues of the three saints were loaded onto a cart, and members of the Saint Alfio Society, which organizes the parade, used cannons to blast confetti into the air. The current and some past presidents of the society rode with the statues through the city's old Italian neighborhood while Saint Alfio's Band played music.

The procession moved slowly as people handed children and money to the men in the cart so the youngsters could get a close look at the statues.

Wayne Peters, president of the Saint Alfio Society, said the money will be donated to charity.

The statues were finally brought inside the church at 8:15 p.m.

The Saint Alfio Society plans to demolish its one-story headquarters on Common Street and construct a two-story building on the same lot. The organization hopes to have the building finished in time for next year's feast.

"We'll have the new building open next year, and it's going to be even bigger and better," Peters said.

He marveled at the crowd that filled the street.

"These people have faith," he said.