It was a "wonderful weekend" at the Southington Italian-American Festival, says Dawn Miceli, president of Southington Unico. The annual festival, held on Center Street, is organized by the town's three Italian heritage clubs, Southington UNICO, Sons of Italy and Sorelle d'Italia in America. Highlights included fireworks, a traditional Italian Mass and procession on Sunday, Italian singing and dancing on stage, and a variety of popular Italian foods for sale.

This year also saw the return of the Children's Carnival and a new Italian Marketplace. Miceli said that the festival was off to a strong start on Friday. Saturday saw heavy rains put a damper on festivities, resulting in the festival closing early that night. But, Sunday had idyllic, humidity-free weather and with it the return of large crowds.