Greater Youngstown fest keeps Italian heritage alive

By AMANDA TONOLI

atonoli@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The Vindicator (Youngstown)

Photo

Nikos Frazier | The Vindicator..A dog guards a game booth at the Greater Youngstown Italian Festival

The saucy smell of spaghetti, meatballs, strombolis and more drew a crowd to Central Square downtown to kick off the 31st Annual Greater Youngstown Italian Fest Friday evening.

Brittany Hayes of Youngstown brought her four kids to the Federal Street site to enjoy the festivities – first with food and later with rides. She said it’s an inexpensive and fun night for the whole family.

Admission is $4 for anyone over the age of 12.

The only rule for the night out is that children must be accompanied by a parent.

Riccardo Wallace, festival security and cleanup worker, said he was glad to be a part of the celebration this year.

“The people you meet are just great,” he said.

Festival Volunteer Ray Clement agreed and said meeting people is the best part of his job.

“You just never know who you’re going to meet,” he said. “You get to make a lot of new friends.”

Clement said he’s been a volunteer for the Italian Fest since its inception, 31 years ago.

Denise Davis of Youngstown said walking around the square surrounded by families and even rides like the ferris wheel and circular swingset takes her back to times at Idora Park, the city’s former famous amusement park which burned down in the 1980s.

Linda Ilich, Italian Heritage Foundation of Youngstown secretary, said the festival takes her back even farther in time, to the 1890s when Italian families made their way to the United States.

“This is part of our heritage,” she said. “Together we all come together to celebrate our Italian heritage every year at the Greater Youngstown Italian Fest.”

The Italian Heritage Foundation of Youngstown Scholarship program extended celebrating Italian heritage by donating twelve $1,000 scholarships to Youngstown State University students as part of the opening ceremonies.

According to the foundation’s website, the scholarships are awarded with the intention of keeping “alive the spirit of all of the hard-working Italian American people who sacrificed so much to build a better life for their children and grandchildren in this community.”

No matter what the reason – the food, the music or the memories – Wallace said going to the festival is quite the experience every year.

The Italian Fest will continue from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. today and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday.