Italian Heritage Festival coming to downtown Washington
The sixth annual Washington Italian Heritage Festival is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 24, noon to 8 p.m. at the Community Pavilion on 139 South Main Street in downtown Washington.
A kick-off event will be held on Friday, Sept. 23, at the Community Pavilion. From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Shades of Time will perform a free concert. Beer and wine will be sold. On Saturday, the festival will feature activities for all ages, including face-painting, meet and greet with Pinocchio and Gepetto by Fairytale Princess Visits, balloon art by Jessica Garda of The Cheerful Balloon Co., storytelling by Alan Irvine, and more.
Throughout the day, guests can enjoy Italian music, learn about Italian culture, shop for merchandise and enjoy Italian food and beverages. At 5:30 pm, Nate Mass of the “Washington PA Food” Facebook group will host an Italian Cooking Competition, “Best Meatball Edition,” Grande Italian vs. Union Grill with celebrity judges Beth Dolinar of WQED, Val Porter and Tony Panyanouvang.
Representatives of the Italian Heritage Collection at Citizens Library will be on hand to invite descendants of Washington’s Italian immigrants to record their histories and to digitize historic photos and documents.
The festival is sponsored by Primo Italiano Lodge #2800, Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, Sons and Daughters of Italy. For additional information, visit the festival’s Facebook page, at www.facebook.com/WashPaFestA.