Photos courtesy G.A. Brannon
Italian culture isn’t all pasta, pizza and talking using your hands; and now you can see for yourself. On Oct. 7-9, the Italian Festival will be in town. The festival will be a great event for the family to attend, with rides all weekend and kid-friendly foods. Entry fee at the gate is five dollars, and free for anyone under the age of 12.
The Taste of Italy preceded the Italian Festival on Oct. 3, which included a variety of food trucks to choose from.
Tickets to the Italian Festival can be bought in advance for $35, or at the door for $40. On Oct. 9 at 1 p.m., a parade will weave 1.2 miles through Victorian Village, the Short North and Italian Village. Area high school marching bands will perform during the parade, and will perform on the Carfagna Stage at the Italian Festival for one final song performance at 2 p.m. when the parade is finished. The marching bands will also compete to in the High School Marching Bands Competition.
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Musical artists such as Dr. Zoot, Two Gent and the Lady and the Street players will also perform. In addition to musical performances, the Italian Festival will feature a Tarantella dance instruction, swashbuckling, fencing and language arts demo, and traditional Italian dancers. Click here to see a full schedule of performances. On Oct. 9 at 10:30 a.m., the Italian Festival will also hold a Catholic Mass.
The Columbus Italian Festival will be held Oct. 7-9 at St. John the Baptist Italian Catholic Church. The Columbus Italian Festival is still in search of volunteers. For more information about performers, volunteering or vendors, click here.
Ray Bruster is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
