Festa Italiana, an annual celebration of Italian culture and traditions, will mark its fifth anniversary this year by using profits from the event to support Catholic Community Services of Utah’s homeless and refugee outreach services. “Festa Italiana SLC was born out of members of the Italian American Civic League (IACL) who had the idea of creating an Italian street festival like those showcased in most major cities in the United States,” said  Nick Fuoco, the event’s director.

IACL, established in 1934, is a nonprofit organization that is committed to promoting Italian culture. “We as a group decided this was something we wanted to do, and its founding members worked with the Salt Lake City mayor’s office, businesses and community organizations to figure out a way to fund it,” Fuoco said.