by Shelly Conlon Managing 

Since 1986, Italy resident Frances Whitener has had the sweet spot downtown as the owner of the Magic Mirror Beauty Salon and a resident of the southern Ellis County town. She's seen shops come and go. She's seen state championship football parades. But if there's one thing that united "Biggest Little Town in Texas," she said, it's the Italian Festival. The thing is, it's been nearly 20 years since the street dance, good food and cultural celebration lined the streets. That changes starting Friday night and Saturday.

"I think it's wonderful they're bringing it back and I think it's that kind of stuff is what keeps the town going," Whitener said. "You've got to have association with the community, the country and we even used to have people from other towns come over here because we had such huge parades. We don't have that anymore. Our school and our town worked together, but they haven't been doing that the last few years. I think it's going to come back though because we have young blood in both the school and here. I'm talking about mature young adults who care about this town because they were born and raised here and their parents were born and raised here. There's roots."

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Source: http://www.waxahachietx.com/