Trending
The 41st Warren Italian-American Festival opens today at Courthouse Square.
The festival founded by Lou Metter has been a downtown Warren tradition since 1985.
Pageants and competitions are a big part of the event. The bocce tournament runs all four days, and the Main Stage on opening night will host the Junior Princess, Junior Miss Italian and Miss Italian pageants starting at 6 p.m.
A wine tasting competition starts at 1 p.m. Saturday at the gazebo, and the morra tournament begins at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Main Stage will host the meatball eating contest at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by the Tiny King & Queen pageant at 3 p.m.
The festival continues a shift in recent years of mixing traditional Italian and more contemporary entertainment.
The Main Stage music lineup starts with Youngstown's The Houseband at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Performing Saturday and Sunday will be Mirella the Musician at 6 p.m, Cat Tedder at 7:30 p.m. and Marco Fiorante at 9:15 p.m.
The Beer Tent lineup includes Rex Taneri Orchestra at 7 p.m. Thursday, Brickhouse Blues Band at 7 p.m. Friday, Jim Frank Combo at 1 p.m. and Guys Without Ties at 7 p.m. Saturday and The Vegas Band at 1 p.m. and Dueling Pianos at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
The final day of the festival will have an outdoor Italian Mass at 10 a.m. Sunday, preceded by a Blessed Virgin Procession at 9:50 a.m. A continental breakfast follows the mass, and the parade steps off at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Cultural heritage displays will be set up in front of Courthouse Square all four days. The festival's Caffe Italiano will serve Italian cookies and pastries, homemade meatball sandwiches and wine slushies, and a wide range of vendors will be serving Italian favorites and traditional fair foods.
The festival runs from 4 to 11 p.m. today and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A $3 donation requested for admission to the public park. For more information, go to warrenitalianfestival.com.