Ciao! Italian Association Brings Little Italy to New Location!

The Italian Festival of Arizona is a two-day event celebrating Italian culture, music, arts, commerce, and most certainly food!

Visitors will enjoy authentic Italian cuisine such as Neapolitan pizza, lasagna, pastries, gnocchi, porchetta, Italian ice, gelato, espresso, beer, wine and so much more!

There will also be live authentic music and entertainment where you can experience true Italian culture. Some of this year’s musical guests include: guitarist Pietro Rainone and singer Anna Calemme; classical crossover music from Arizona-based singer Alexa Nadramia; a blend of traditional and modern music from the Vince Chiarelli Band of Chicago and the Sicilian Band of Los Angeles. Los Tres Tenores, a group comprised of tenors from the Phoenix Opera, will perform with soprano Lisanne Norman Brooks and piano accompaniment from Phoenix Opera artistic director John Massaro.

Festival vendors allow event goers to purchase locally and internationally made Italian hand crafted jewelry, clothing, art, décor, pottery, olive oil, uncooked flavored pasta, sauces, automobiles, motorcycles & more.

For the young-at-heart, face painters will create unique designs similar to Venetian masks.

The festival brings a touch of the old country and modern Italy into a city-square-like setting which will give it an Italian piazza feel.

Since the festival has grown tremendously from 2,000 people the first year to approximately 14,000 last year, the festival has moved to the Civic Center Mall from the SouthBridge area in Old Town Scottsdale. Along with continuing to grow the festival, the association hopes to establish a Little Italy in Phoenix in the future.

The Italian Festival is sponsored by The City of Scottsdale and hosted by the Italian Association of Arizona. A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a non-profit organization offering food, clothing, housing and medical services to those in need in Arizona.

Italian Festival Arizona will be held this Saturday March 25th (11am – 9pm) and Sunday March 26th (11am – 5pm). Tickets are $10 presale and $15 at the door. Children under 12 years of age are FREE!

Visit their website for full event information, directions, map, and to purchase tickets at: www.ItalianFestivalAZ.com.

Civic Center Mall
3939 N Drinkwater Blvd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Take look at last year’s festival! This is an event you won’t want to miss!