A taste of Italian culture drew thousands of people from across the Chicago area to Naper Settlement over the weekend for the city’s fifth Festa Italiana, a tradition canceled during the pandemic of 2020.
“When I was growing up, I liked to pretend I was Italian,” said Cherie Lily while enjoying Festa Italiana with her two kids ages 7 and 4. Lily said COVID-19 had kept her away from downtown Naperville for a long time, but she finally came back over the weekend and noticed the posters for the festival.
“It said rides, and I was sold. There’s fun stuff for the kids, and the weather’s been perfect. I love that stuff is coming back,” said Lily, who enjoyed the Italian cuisine. “We had pizza. I thought it was delicious. My son had penne with vodka sauce, and he ate the whole thing. Next we’ll try the fried dough and cannoli.”
While there was no wait to order beer, cocktails and sangria at the drink stands, festival goers stood in long lines to enjoy a variety of Italian food specialties such as meatball sandwiches and Italian ice offered by Bella Luna Cafe, Genoa Italian, Capri Sogno, Giambotta, Little Pop’s New York Pizzeria and Ron’s Fried Dough.
“I’m happy to see a lot of people out here,” said Ron Rufo as he stood over a hot fryer making panzerotti, a calzone-looking turnover stuffed with cheese or sausage. “People are so tired of COVID. They’re looking for anything to get out. It’s nice having a line. A line builds a line,” said the owner of Ron’s Fried Dough.
As a grandchild of four Italian immigrants, Rufo said he’s thrilled to be part of an Italian festival in Naperville 40 years after he first started serving his popular snacks at the long-running Italian Feast in Melrose Park.
Jessie Koziana said Naperville’s Festa Italiana reminded her of well-known Italian festivals in the metro area on Chicago’s Taylor Street and in Addison, which were also canceled in 2020 because of COVID-19.
“I love it. This is familiar. And the orchestra — I was blown away,” said Koziana, who moved to the United States as a child in 1953 from the Italian city of Cosenza.
Koziana wandered through the 16 vendors selling things such as ceramics, cooking oils, a variety of Italian clothes and accessories at a booth dedicated to the Mediterranean country and run by Barb Colagrossi.
“Where are you going to find this? Our jackets are custom made. I do the custom jewelry. I’m proud they like our products,” said Colagrossi, who started the Italian American Store on Wheels at Wolff’s Flea Market in Melrose Park 25 years ago.
“My husband’s parents were born in Italy. I went out with him at 15. I was married at 20. So I grew up with them,” explained Colagrossi, who helped Jessie Koziana pick out an Italian hat for her 8-year-old grandson Leo.
“He wanted that hat, and I wanted them to have something,” said Kristie Koziana of Naperville. She said they decided to go to this year’s fest after seeing the entry fee was much lower than it was in 2019. Festa Italiana offered free admittance to everyone arriving before 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, while those entering at other times during the three-day fest paid $5 for residents and $10 for non-residents, with kids under 12 free.
This year’s scaled-down festival did not include the Italian circus but did add four activities for kids, including a trampoline, inflatable obstacle course and bounce houses. Parents had to shell out additional money for the kids attractions and the three carnival games: ring the bell, pop the balloon, and dunk the basketball.
Nine-year-old Alaina Hecht of Bolingbrook said her favorite part was the bounce houses. “It’s a beautiful day. We can’t stay home,” said her mother, Megan Hecht, who went to Naperville Central High School but had never previously visited Naper Settlement before the festival. She said her family moved to Naperville when she was a teenager, so she never went to the Naper Settlement field trips like her younger sister did.
“It was one of my sister’s favorite places. I’ve driven by it a million times. I would love to come back and see Naper Settlement,” said Hecht.
Michelle and Tom Veleta said their first chance to see the Chicago Jazz Orchestra drew them to the festival from Tinley Park. “We’re listening to great music. We had Italian arancini. It was delicious. And fried zucchini. We’ve been to other Naperville fests. I like that it’s smaller, quaint,” said Michelle Veleta.
“This year we went a little smaller because we didn’t know how it would be with COVID,” said Joe Celia, a member of the Star Events security team. “This was a big turnout.”
Diane Moca is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
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