by Wesley Case

With lauded restaurants like Aldo's and La Tavola, it is easy to understand why city residents and visitors automatically associate Baltimore's Little Italy neighborhood with classic cuisine. Cyd Wolf, however, wants to remind those same people that Little Italy has much more to offer than a plate of pasta and a glass of wine.

Wolf plans to prove it this weekend, when Little Italy hosts its first Madonnari Arts Festival. The free event, which kicked off Thursday night and runs through Sunday, will focus on street chalk drawings — Madonnari is the Italian word for these specific artists — but will also offer live music, theater performances and a Columbus Day parade, said Wolf, the festival's executive producer.

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Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/