Sunday, July 17, 2016
Staff report
YOUNGSTOWN
The Our Lady of Mount Carmel Italian Festival, on the parish grounds near downtown Youngstown, returns for its 18th year this week.
The festival opens Thursday and runs through July 24 in the parking lot and social hall of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica, 343 Via Mount Carmel.
Opening ceremonies will begin at 7 p.m. Friday in the social hall, honoring Woman of the Year Cathy Zack and Man of the Year Lou Fusillo. Additionally, three $1,000 scholarships to Youngstown State University will be awarded to recipients Yasmeen El-Nobani, Mark Fusillo and Mara McCloud.
Leading the lineup of Italian entertainment will be vocalist Moreno Fruzzetti, who is originally from Pisa, Italy, but now resides in New Jersey. The Cavaliers, a band from Pittsburgh, will perform Friday night with popular Italian tunes and more.
Other entertainers will include Pittsburgh’s Mirella the Musician, local favorites Dominica Tocco and Brotherhood, Rex Taneri, John Gabriele, Avanti Band, Gli Italiani from Canton, Jim Frank Combo, Rocky Monaco, Butch Nichols Band, D-Major, Stefano and Franco Simone.
The festival with begin Thursday with the Boardman Chick-fil-A Little Prince & Princess Pageant at 7 p.m. in the social hall for boys and girls age 4 to 9 hosted by WYTV-TV personality Jim Loboy.
The Sunday noon Mass will be followed by the procession down Via Mount Carmel, led by a group of the church’s youths bearing the flags of Italy’s regions, along with the Knights of Columbus, and the Man and Woman of the Year. The procession will then make its way through the midway and conclude with a concert by the Lowellville Band.
As always, there will be variety of Italian food vendors, offering everything from cavatelli and sausage to pastries.
The Italian auction, another staple, will feature more than 250 prizes open to bidding.
There also will be craft and retail vendors, a children’s area, a dunking booth and a morra contest at 6 p.m. Friday (registration starts at 5 p.m.).
There will be plenty of free parking and security, with free shuttle service to the festival grounds. After the Mount Carmel lot is filled, parking lots at United Way, St. Cyril & Methodius Church, IBM Building, Levinson Tire and the YMCA will be used.