For nearly three decades, Hertel Avenue in North Buffalo was home to the city's annual Italian Heritage Festival. That will end this summer, when the event takes place on Buffalo's Outer Harbor.
Festival organizers confirmed the plan to move during a news conference Tuesday morning in City Hall. Chef Marco Sciortino of Galbani Cheese, the event's longtime sponsor, says festival committee members agreed it was time to find a larger space for the four-day celebration.
"We just feel that with the success of the Italian Festival over 30 years, we outgrew our space and the Outer Harbor's a perfect spot," he said.
The festival, which originated on Connecticut Street four decades ago, drew as many as half a million people last year. Organizers say some of the issues that come with hosting a festival on a city street, including parking, will be better addressed at the Outer Harbor.
"We understand the challenge to create in the Outer Harbor a space that is useable and safe for the residents of Western New York," said Jonathan Dandes, president of Rich Baseball Operations and the head of the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation's Outer Harbor Management Group. "Our commitment, on behalf of out team and everybody at the Outer Harbor Management Group, is to justify the belief you have in us that this will be a spectacular event this summer."
The festival will be held July 13-16, beginning at 11 a.m. each day and ending each night at 11 p.m. A $5 admission will be charged, though kids ages 12 and under will be admitted free, while seniors and veterans with ID will be charged half price. In prior years, the event was free for participants of all ages.
In addition to the food, entertainment and activities that have become tradition at the festival, plans this year include an Italian car show, Sicilian puppet shows and a bocce tournament.
"It's always been Italian but we're going to focus on only Italian heritage, Italian food, Italian colors," Sciortino said. "It's always been our goal and yes, it's going to be more Italian."
Sciortino believes the local Italian-American community will follow their heritage celebration to its new home.
"Any time you go to an Italian household, you're made to feel welcome. This is our dining room table now," said Sciortino.
