With the month of October recognized as Italian American Heritage Month, the capital city of Ohio, Columbus, is honoring two great milestones in its history. This year, the Columbus Italian Festival celebrates its 45th Anniversary and its seventy years of sisterhood with Genoa, Italy.
1980, was the first Columbus Italian festival, it is now held on the grounds of the historic St. John the Baptist Italian Catholic Church, where tours are given of the breathtaking Italian built church of 1896, also offering Catholic Questions and Answers in the church during daily festival church tours. The festival runs from Friday, October,10 through Sunday, October,12.
The 2025 festival theme, “Generations of Genoa” Why so? Since 1955 the City of Columbus, Ohio, has had a sister-city relationship with Genoa, Italy, through Columbus, oldest Italian Club, The Piave Club, this relationship with Genoa, Italy, gifted Columbus, Ohio an 18’ bronze statue of Christopher Columbus, by artist Edoardo Alfieri, to the Ohio town for its, Columbus Day, 1955. This was a Genoa thank you, for the embracing of the immigrant Italians to the American city of Columbus, Ohio.
The festival is truly a celebration of Italian heritage, culture, food, and traditions like the San Giovanni Dancers and our bocce tournament. This year’s Italian festival comes with musical entertainment featuring NYC Tenor, Michael Castaldo with Columbus’ Rick Brunetto Big Band also Cleveland’s own Alla Boara, Italian Folk Band.
Highlights of this year’s festival: Italian Cultural Tent, which presents: Italian cooking, language, history, books, and herbalist demonstrations, daily. Also, the legendary one weekend a year, Pizza. As we say at the festival…“Come for the Pizza, Stay for the Festival.”
The local Columbus Piave Club began in 1919 hosts, the Columbus Italian Parade and high school marching band competition on Sunday. This year’s parade Grand Marshal is Central Ohio’s music icon, Rick Brunetto, Percussionist and retired Director of Music at St. Charles Preparatory, also leader of the Rick Brunetto Big Band which had the longest running gig of a band in Columbus Ohio for 33 years of Thursday night dancing at the 94th Aero Squadron. For the past six years his band plays every Friday evening at the Historic Valley Dale Ballroom, since 1919 Columbus’ first music arena, which he co-owns with his wife Landa Masdea Brunetto.
The Columbus Italian Festival presents the “Hall of Fame” honoring its volunteers, for their incredible vision, drive and work ethic for the creation and betterment of the festival. Under the festival’s, Executive Director, Adam Montemarano, thirteen dedicated members of the festival executive board work all twelve months to create the annual festa, also guiding our tremendous success are the festival chairpersons, volunteers, and terrific sponsors.
Central-Ohio’s Columbus Italian Festival is a must-attend event this and every October. The annual Columbus Italian Festival is an opportunity for all to experience the great legacy of Italian heritage and culture.
Festival website: https://www.columbusitalianfestival.com
