Food, adult beverages, entertainment and all-ages fun will fill the streets of Tampa’s historic Ybor City during the multiday extravaganza that is Festa Italiana. The annual celebration, started in 1997, honors Italian culture and heritage over four days, though Friday’s Krewe of Italia Invitational is sold out.
Thursday’s wine-filled opening party will offer more than 70 wines and Italian fare — including antipasti and desserts — for tasting, plus a silent auction with stellar prizes and gift packages. Saturday’s festivities include the Bocce Ball Invitational, the Italian Idol singing competition and a homemade wine contest.
The weekend culminates with Sunday’s Festa Italiana, which launches with a 10 a.m. mass inside The Italian Club of Tampa. Later on, more than 35 of Tampa Bay’s best restaurants and catering companies will offer up tasty dishes and samplings, alongside a cultural and genealogy area, cooking battles, grape stomping, a children’s area and a Club Italia party tent. The main stage will also highlight entertainers, singers and dancers from around the world.
Free-$60. Thu., April 7, 6-9 p.m.; Sat., April 9, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Sun., April 10, 11 a.m. Various Ybor City locations, Tampa. festaitalianatampa.com.
This article appears in Mar 31 – Apr 6, 2016.