The Canastota Italian Ancestry Organization will host the annual Italian American Festival on North Canal Street in Canastota from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. The festival will kick off next to the historic Erie Canal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The celebration of Italian American culture will feature live local entertainment, Italian and American cuisine, historical displays and demonstrations, produce sales and local artisan booths offering custom merchandise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This one-day event features three local bands: D&B Entertainment at 11 a.m., followed by Old Clay Stone at 1:30 p.m. and Rewind at 4 p.m. Enjoy lunch and dinner at any (or all) of the food truck vendors with local delicacies including the traditional sausage sandwich, pastries, fried bread dough and fresh-squeezed lemonade, to name a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Visit the Erie Canal Museum and learn about Canastota\u2019s history on the Erie Canal; the museum will be open all day. There will be an Italian immigration lecture by Antone Eppolito at 1 p.m. in Canal Town Education Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vendor sales will include crafts, clothing, candles, fragrances, wine, Tastefully Simple, jewelry, pastries, artwork, sunglasses, handbags, Italian t-shirts, games for the kids and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Basket raffles and a 50\/50 raffle will be held. The committee will be distributing applications to gather family stories for inclusion in a new edition of the Canastota-Italian Heritage book. If your family has never been included in the books or if you would like to submit your own story, be sure to grab an application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The festival, which runs rain or shine, is free and open to the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n