By Bill Archer

The 19th Annual Southern West Virginia Italian-American Festival is bound to be one for the record books as the Herb Sims Youth Center and Bluefield City Auditorium were absolutely jam packed with visitors enjoying the tastes of good Italian cooking and the fellowship of friends.

"I think this is about the biggest crowd I've ever seen here," Henry Paul, 93, of Gary said. "It's a good place to visit with friends and the food is always good."

The festival is presented by the Bluefield-Princeton Lodge Fratelli Tricolore (OISA) 2631, Sons & Daughters of Italy. In the early years, the event was held at the National Guard Armory/Civic Center in Brushfork, but when the West Virginia National Guard was using the armory to prepare for deployment to Iraq, the Sons of Italy started using the Sims Center/Auditorium.

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Source: http://bdtonline.com