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Italianfest returning to Newport’s Festival Park this summer with authentic Italian food, music and more


Newport’s Italianfest returning to Festival Park this summer (Photo from Facebook)

The City of Newport has announced announce Italianfest is returning this summer with new dates. The festival will run from Thursday, July 15 through Sunday, July 18 at Festival Park between the Purple People and Taylor Southgate Bridges on the banks of the Ohio River.

Presented by the City of Newport and ColdIron events, Italianfest has become one of the area’s most popular event with an average of over 100,000 visitors. Visitors travel from all over to celebrate the area’s Italian heritage with live music, authentic Italian food, drinks and more.

“Due to the uncertainty concerning COVID protocols, the Italianfest was canceled for its traditional time in June. Subsequently, there has been loosening of restrictions which will allow us to move the event to a later time,” said Newport City Manager, Tom Fromme.

“After examining various dates it appears that July 15th to July18th will be the new dates,” Fromme said. “This allows time to properly prepare for the event as well as assuring that the vendors and musicians are available.”

Other features of the festival include a family photo booth showcasing the history of Italian families that settled in Newport generations ago. There will also be a cooking contest and plenty of Italian and other foods. The weekend long event kicks off with a Bocci Ball Tournament at Pompilio’s Restaurant on Wednesday, July 14th.

“We are excited because Italianfest will be one of the first festivals held in the region this summer,” said Tom Guidugli Sr. of Newport, the longtime Italianfest Chairman. “We look forward to returning to the family traditions and roots of Newport’s Italian heritage, which is why we celebrate with the Italianfest.”

A full list of musical performances and vendors will be released at a later date.

City of Newport


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