La Festa Italiana brings taste of Italy to Scranton

SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — You don’t need to be Italian to have fun at an annual festival making its way back to the Electric City this weekend.

28/22 News spoke to organizers behind La Festa Italiana about how it reflects on heritage while bringing everyone together.

The Lackawanna County Courthouse is sporting new colors this week as red, white, and green make up the Italian flag hanging in the square.

That only means one thing, La Festa Italiana is back.

“Everybody wants to be Italian right? Everybody has a little bit of Italian in them so that’s a great thing,” stated Debbie Meila, board member of La Festa Italiana.

The four-day event that kicks off Friday has been bringing Italian music and delicious food to Scranton since 1976.

“The first one, the Hilton was over here and we had a green army tent and it was Columbus Day,” explained Frank Gervasi, La Festa Italiana committeeperson and performer.

Everybody has their favorite part.

“Just the music. The music brightens everybody’s day, it always does,” added Gervasi.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was the food. The food’s delicious. I also like the community, I like the comradery. Meeting old friends, meeting new friends, the music. It’s just a great weekend,” expressed Michael Linko, President of Unico Scranton Chapter.

This year marks the most Italian food vendors along with kid rides making a comeback since COVID, and a new car show Saturday.

“It’s just another extension of the La Festa community. It’s just bringing more people together on a number of different levels,” said Richard Suraci, board member of La Festa Italiana.

Also expanding its heritage center organizers want all those enjoying to remember our region’s history.

“The people that have come to this country. Our grandparents and our parents and our great-grandparents that sacrificed so much when they came here, settled here,” explained Meila.

La Festa Italiana begins Friday at 5:00 p.m. and runs through Monday in Scranton at Courthouse Square.

You can visit La Festa Italiana’s website for more details.

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