Southington's Italian Festival Returns In July

By Brian M. Johnson, The Bristol Press

June 9, 2021

Southington’s Italian Festival will be returning to Center Street this July.

The festival, which was canceled last year due to covid-19, will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. on July 24 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 25, opening that Sunday with a traditional Italian Mass and procession. Center Street will be closed to traffic for the duration of the festival.

The festivities will mostly be held in the lot next to the Sons of Italy building, where tents will be set up for local nonprofits including the three sponsor organizations – Sons of Italy, Unico and Sorelle d' Italia in America. There will also be a band stand set up for performers which will include people singing traditional Italian music and popular American music.

David Zoni, one of the festival's co-chairs representing Unico, said that although the committee organizing the event decided to scale it back somewhat this year, he is glad to be able to bring it back. While in past years the festival would also be held on Friday, it will still have many of the attractions residents have come to look forward to year after year.

“We just couldn't let go for two years in a row,” he said. “We need to keep the Italian tradition alive - especially with the Mass and procession.”

Southington has a large Italian population and the three sponsor organizations put the festival together annually to celebrate that heritage. However, during the Italian Festival, Zoni joked that “everyone is Italian.”

Town Council Chair Victoria Triano said she is also excited to see the festival make a return.

“It’s a little different than last time, but it’s a wonderful first step forward,” she said. “The Italian Festival is a great time for the whole town and I hope everyone in town shows up.”

Town Manager Mark Sciota said that the town is “thrilled” that the Italian Festival is moving forward this year.

“It’s important to move back to normalcy,” he said. “Being out at the festival and listening to the entertainment with friends and family is an important step.”

In past years, Zoni said, vendors would line either side of Center Street. While they will be limited to the lot next to sons of Italy this year, he said, local restaurants are likely to bring out food for festival goers.

“There are a lot of great restaurants in the area including Ideal Tavern, Nonna’s Pizza, Paul Gregory’s, Groggy Frogg and Friends Café,” he said. “Normally they put food out along the sidewalks during the festival.”

Among the other non-profit organizations at the festival will be the Jaycees and a group selling Italian pastries and Italian foods and treats to raise money to for research of Cooley's anemia. This blood disorder more commonly affects people of Italian and Greek heritage.

For more information on the Italian Festival, visit facebook.com/SouthingtonItalianFestival.