All things Italian will take center stage this weekend in Seaside Heights, as the borough hosts the annual Italian Festival and Ocean County Columbus Day Parade. The Italian Festival will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Grant Avenue, and will feature food, music, crafts and performances by an Italian folkloric group, Citta' dei Trulli, a group from the small town of Alberobello, located in Puglia, southern Italy.

The group will march in the parade and also perform at the festival. Citta' dei Trulli includes about 40 members, divided between singers and dancers, according to the Ocean County Columbus Day Parade Committee. The group was formed in 1928 to represent their regions traditions, costumes, dances and songs. While they are in the United States, they will also perform in other locations in Ocean County, including senior villages, and take trips to Atlantic City and New York.