The Italian Festival

OVERVIEW

Seattle Center Festál presents The Italian Festival in partnership with Festa Italiana. The Italian Festival is an annual festival inaugurated in 1988 to celebrate the joy of “All Things Italian”. With an approximate attendance of 25,000 people, the festival is the largest Italian American event in the Northwest, and one of the largest ethnic festivals in Seattle. It features art, music, food, dance and participatory activities for the entire family. Highlights include cooking demos, a classic car show, a dog show, and a world-famous “Grape Stomp” which must be seen to be believed!

HISTORY

The organizational mission is as follows: "Whereas: Italians and Italian-Americans have made significant contributions to the economic, social and cultural development of the world; Therefore: Festa Italiana, Inc. hereby commits to promote Italian heritage and culture by means of education, preservation and celebration." The festival achieves these goals each year by presenting Festa Italiana, a series of events in Seattle running from late September through early October, culminating in a major community festival at the Seattle Center. Festa events focus on the cultural roots and history of Italians in America and the Northwest, and celebrate the arts, the food and the spirit that is uniquely Italian.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Bank of America’s history dates to 1904 when Amadeo Peter Giannini, an Italian American, opened the Bank of Italy in San Francisco. It eventually became the Bank of America and was for a time owned by Giannini's holding company, Transamerica Corporation.
• Italian Americans are an ethnic group consisting of Americans who have full or majority-ancestry from Italy. Italian Americans are the fourth largest white ethnic group in the U.S. In fact, during WWII, the largest ethnic group to volunteer for the American armed forces was comprised of Italians living in the United States, and Italian Americans.
• Italy is the country that gave the world opera and Neapolitan love songs, but also Gregorian Chant and the entire Western concept of harmony.
• In 2018, the number of pizzerias in the United States totaled 75,243 with sales in excess of 45.1 Billion dollars.