It’s the time of year when Syracuse’s Little Italy reaches Downtown Syracuse for Festa Italiana. When you hear Dean Martin’s voice filling the air with the aroma of Italian foods and baked goods, you better be leaving some room in your belly ! Don’t worry, you can dance it off. City, State and Festival organizers raised the Italian flag this morning to kick-off the 18th annual event.
Now through Sunday, Festa Italiana will be open along East Washington Street near City Hall and the State office Building are blocked off and the food tents are up. The festival has 300 volunteers. For Festa President, Ginnie Lostumbo, it’s been a family affair that began in the late 1970’s and it wasn’t always located in Downtown Syracuse.
“My family was instrumental to start the first Italian Festival with St. Peter’s Church and 20 cities across New York State. Three years we were at the State Fair (grounds) and the first year we had 100,000 people at a dollar a car !”
Festa’s Bocce Tournament returns and for the first time, visitors can try Italian Bingo. On Friday, kids get to learn the Italian card game Briscola until 7PM. Nearby, the Onondaga Historical Association recently opened the Italian-American Exhibit. Some people were reminiscing looking through pictures and sharing memories from years ago.
The festival is open from 11 AM to 11 PM Friday and Saturday. Sunday begins with a Mass at 11 AM with Father Caruso. It's dedicated to the first Italian American Church in Syracuse, St. Peter’s. After mass, the festival will be open until 7 PM on Sunday.
