CLINTON, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – The city of Clinton is gearing up for its 57th annual “Little Italy Festival” coming this Labor Day Weekend.
The festival will kick off with a parade on Friday, September 2 at 6p.m. with a welcoming to follow. After that, the festival will continue through Monday, September 5.
Adria Davis, Little Italy Festival Board President, said they started preparing for this year right when last year’s festival ended.
She said there will be many food vendors, music, a wine garden, and even museums for people to enjoy.
“A lot of the same stuff, a lot of different stuff, a lot of different things so you’ll just have to come and see,” Davis said.
Davis said they did have the festival last year, but it was not the same as it would have been during a “normal” year.
“Last year we did have it but there were vendors that had to pull out due to COVID, a lot of people were still afraid to get out because of COVID restrictions so we didn’t have the crowds and the turnout of our usual vendors that we have but this year everything seems more back to normal. We have a lot of new vendors that have never been here before,” Davis said.
The festival will also be featuring its 2nd annual Bagna Càuda Cook-Off, spaghetti eating contest, and its first “meet the author” event.
Davis said she is excited to see the type of turnout they have this year, and expects it to be one of their best festivals yet.
“I hope they can see how many people in the community have a sense of pride in our community, in our heritage, the festival, all the people that have been involved over the 50 some years. Generations of family have been involved a lot of the time,” Davis said.
For a full list of events and times, you can visit “The Little Italy Festival” Facebook page, which you can find by clicking here.
