Galbani Italian Heritage Festival starts Friday in North Buffalo

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - This weekend, Hertel Avenue will be filled with lots of music, food and fun as the Galbani Italian Heritage Festival kicks off Friday in North Buffalo, and runs through Sunday.

There are some new attractions this year at the festival.

"We have a piazza that's going to be in front of the main stage, which is going to have a lot of high top tables," said Marco Sciolino in an interview with WBEN. "There's going to be a bar with a lot of adult beverages. You can get your food, come in and stand, have a nice place to relax and watch the entertainment."

That entertainment includes singer Cynthia coming in from New York on Friday night, plus a Madonna tribute band featured on Saturday night.

There will also be a picnic area for families to sit and relax while enjoying the festival. Plus, there's a puppet show, grape stomping, and cooking demonstrations.

Festival President Judy Porto-Fiorella describes the festival simply: "It's our kitchen table, we bring the family."

"When you have your kitchen table, you bring family to your table. So we're bringing everybody as our family to our table to socialize, have fun, listen to music, eat," said Porto-Fiorella with WBEN.

Speaking of food, there's lot of it, including pizza, Italian sausage, stuffed hot pepper rolls, and desserts, with drinks to wash them down.

Proceeds go to three organizations: Hertel Business Association, the Italian American Federation, and West Side Business and Taxpayers.

The event starts Friday from 11 a.m.-to-9 p.m. ET, continues Saturday from 11 a.m.-to-9 p.m. ET, and concludes Sunday from 11 a.m.-to-7 p.m. ET.