WARREN Italian festival to feature Al Martino

A famous singer and actor from 'The Godfather' will sing at the festival.
By JAYME RAMSON
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
WARREN -- The 19th annual Warren Italian American Heritage Festival gets under way Aug. 8 at Courthouse Square in Downtown Warren with plenty of music, food and activities.
The festival features live entertainment, rides, a boccie tournament and a parade.
Phil Sidoti, president of the festival committee, expects last year's 60,000 to 70,000 attendance figure to be higher this year.
"I think we will definitely see a boost in our attendance this year because of our headliner, Al Martino," he said.
Martino will sing twice at the festival, on Saturday and Sunday. Besides his singing talent, Martino is also famous for his film career.
In the film "The Godfather," he played the role of Johnny Fontane, who visits Marlon Brando early in the film, asking for help getting an acting job.
The popularity of the movie and the singer might attract more people to the festival, Sidoti thinks.
"We have a lot of other headliners as well and great events for people to enjoy," Sidoti said.
Weather concerns
Though the recent rainy days have put a damper on some of the preparations, the festival committee is looking forward to sunny skies.
"We're hoping for good weather, hopefully a lot of sunshine and not a lot of liquid sunshine," Sidoti said.
Sidoti also said a number of local residents are ready for the festival to get under way.
"There are quite a few people that I've talked to who are excited about the festival this year," he said.