The Italian Cultural & Community Center will host the 39th Houston Italian Festival Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 12-15, on the grounds of the University of St. Thomas.
"Festa Italiana" is an annual festival founded with the mission of celebrating Italian culture and heritage in the city of Houston.
Recognized as a significant cultural event in the city, Festa Italiana has numerous activities to offer its guests.
This year’s festival features live performances from DJ Italia, Fab 5 (a Beatles tribute band), Houston International Folk Dancing group, Tarantellas Italian folk dance group and Italian tenor Aaron Caruso.
The festival will also showcase film screenings, activities and cooking classes for children, wine and beer tastings, Italian language classes, Carranza puppet shows, interactive sidewalk art produced live by featured artist Carol Wells, and a classic car show on Sunday.
Festival goers also have the opportunities to compete in pasta eating contests, grape stomps, and a bocce ball tournament as well as viewing submissions and winners of the amateur photography contest and I Madonnari Sidewalk Art Contest
.Friday night at the festival will take a western turn with Spaghetti Western night, featuring film screenings of "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" and "Once Upon a Time in the West" with live music from Last Chance, a Houston country dance band.
.Proceeds from the Houston Italian Festival benefit several local non-profits including the Italian Cultural & Community Center. This year a portion of the proceeds will also benefit the Houston Food Bank in order to help replenish their supplies in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.