Ladies and gentlemen, start your spaghetti. The 36th annual Eldorado Great Italian Festival takes place this weekend, Oct. 7-8, at the Eldorado Resort Casino in downtown Reno. To help you make the most of the event, we're sharing this insider's look on what to eat, sip and do.

The festival is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 7 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 8. It runs less than a week after the death of Don Carano, the Eldorado founder, Sonoma County winery owner and patriarch of the Carano clan, one of Reno's leading families.