By Madeline McKenzie

Italian food, grape stomping, cooking demos and puppy parades are among crowd-pleasers at Festa Italiana Seattle Italian Festival Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26 and 27, at Seattle Center. If they had you at "Italian food," you're not alone. "Come for the food, stay for the fun" is the festival's motto, with food vendors offering pizza, pasta, sausage and meatball sandwiches, Italian sodas and sorbet, along with three wine and beer gardens.

Celebrity chef Nick Stellino, the originator of the Great Italian Chefs Cooking Stage at the first Italian Festival in 1994 and host of his own public television cooking show, is the headliner at the festival's Great Italian Chefs Cooking Stage, appearing at 4 p.m. both days. Hourly demos with free samples on the Cooking Stage feature chefs from Tutta Bella, Il Fornaio, Assaggio, Pellegrini Marketand other local favorites. Taste of Italy, a ticketed event for ages 21 and older only Saturday evening, offers samples from a selection of 60 Italian wines with bread, antipasti and live music. 

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Source: http://www.seattletimes.com/