The Italian Festa has a long tradition in Hagerstown, drawing hundreds of people every year for steaming plates of pasta and sauce in an event that helps the community. Volunteers came together again Sunday at the Ramada Plaza in Hagerstown to offer the meal, which organizers estimated would net about $6,000 for causes supported by the Antietam Exchange Club.

Italian Festa started at a Venice Inn ballroom on Dual Highway and stayed there for many years, said George "Frit" Hill, project chairman. The Antietam Exchange Club then moved it to South Hagerstown High School, Hill said. Hill recalled when a fierce snowstorm struck the city, and it was impossible to open the school for the dinner that day.