Enjoy food, rides, games and music at Westport's Festival Italiano

Bella!

The 27th annual Festival Italiano rolled into Westport last night.

Pasta, pizza and specialty Italian desserts are among the traditional Italian fare available through Sunday at the festival, which takes place in the spacious commuter parking lots located next to the Saugatuck Railroad Station.

Nonprofit organizations such as the Norwalk Sons of Italy and St. Ann's Club will offer, once again, their popular pizza frites and sausage-and-pepper and meatball grinders. Also on the menus are hot dogs and hamburgers, barbeque ribs from downtown Westport's Bobby Q's Restaurant, Greek entrees provided by Four Brothers, and Asian cuisine from Jasmine's. For the first time, a local church will sell watermelon and fruit cups. Westport Fishing Co. will provide lobster dinners and clam chowder, too.

The festival also features traditional carnival rides and games.

Headlining Friday night are The Legends and The Del Rays. Shows are from 7 to 11 p.m. Taking the stage Saturday night are two bands, Déjà vu and the Duprees.

Italian music will be broadcast all afternoon Sunday. In the evening, Tony Costas will take to the stage from 1 to 3 p.m., and I'Liguri, featuring Lino and Pino, will perform an eclectic mix of modern and traditional accordion music, from 4 to 6 p.m.

A performance of operatic and classic music will also be performed Sunday by Westport native Lucia Palmieri, a professional soprano at the New York Grand Opera. Palmieri assisted in opening the Festival Italiano on Thursday night by singing the National Anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner."

Emil Stucchio is at 7 p.m. and the 2010 Festival Italiano concludes with The Brooklyn Reunion playing the audience's favorite Doo-Wop music.

There is a $5 cover charge Friday through Sunday nights for everyone under the age of 12.

Festival Italiano's schedule of events could be found online at festivalitaliano.info.

Parking is free and a shuttle bus service sponsored by Star Distributors and Pepsi Bottling Co. transports people from local parking lots to the festival's Saugatuck site. Major sponsors include Fairfield County Bank, Mitchells of Westport, Dreamland Amusements, Westport National Bank, Camp Wedgie and the Town of Westport.

Although the Sons of Italy organization initially founded the Festival Italiano, it is now takes place under the auspices of the Westport Festival Italiano Inc., a nonprofit organization whose mission is to raise funds to support local and national charities, and merit scholarships to young people in Fairfield County.