AUTHOR’S NOTE: I first attended the Columbus Italian Festival in 2009.
You can read that experience at…
https://ohiofestivals.net/27-st-johns-columbus-italian-festival-columbus-ohio-october-10-2009/
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At St. John the Baptist Italian Catholic Church…
…as the smell of sauce and pasta led some visitors inside for a leisurely meal…
…others, instead, beelined here…
…so that they could grab a quick slice of some delicious pizza…
…to enjoy while watching a nearby bocce tournament…
…or while walking the surrounding grounds…
…of the Columbus Italian Festival.
Just in front of the church, vendor booths were lined up…
…offering all sorts of breads (Mediterra)…
…olive oils and vinegars (A Twist on Olives)…
…Italian art…
…Italian Jewelry…
…Italian tours (Italian Heritage Tours)…
…knowledge of the Italian language (Italian Dream Academy)…
…and a variety of shirts, mugs and knick-knacks all proud to be Italian.
There were also local Italian clubs and societies represented (Piave Club/Italian Village Society)…
…a cultural tent for Italian cooking presentations, language and trivia…
…a children’s area for arts, crafts and Italian culture…
…two entertainment tents with all sorts of music…
…rides…
…games…
…some healthy old school gambling…
…an irresistible photo op with the Pope…
…and, of course, food…
…food…
…beer and wine to enjoy with the above-mentioned food…
…and more food (Pelino’s Pasta).
Along with the food offerings of St. John’s…
…the go-to food vendors seemed to be Columbus’ own Carfagna’s with their award winning sausage…
…and Cleveland’s Corbo’s Bakery, who brought down their pasta, meatballs…
…and deep fried calamari.
Both businesses also had dessert options, with Carfagna’s offering of spumoni, tiramisu…
…and these beautiful cannoli…
…while Corbo’s Bakery had all their large assortment of delicious cookies, ice cream, lemon ice…
…and this flavorful pistachio ricotta cake…
…which I obviously could not resist.