If you were to shrink Italy and all of its culture, food and music into a 74-acre campus, you would end up with the Italian Festival at Seattle Center. This celebration of all things Italy runs Saturday and Sunday at Seattle Center. With multiple wine gardens, live music, cooking demonstrations, bocce (lawn bowling) and more, the Italian Festival has brought the essence of Italian culture and life to Seattle since its inception in 1988.

It began “as a way to celebrate the quincentennial of Christopher Columbus arriving on the shores of America in 1492. Five hundred years later, there was going to be a big celebration in 1992, and they designed this festival to show off Italian art and artifacts,” said Dennis Caldirola, director of Festa Italiana, the nonprofit organization that produces the Italian Festival.