The 47th West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival fills downtown Clarksburg for three days over Labor Day weekend.
The festival is built around three anchor events. Friday’s coronation ceremony crowns Marra Rose Johnson as Regina Maria XLVII, with music by Amici and evening performances from the Bridgeport High School jazz ensemble, the festival’s dancers, Moreno Fruzzetti and Olivia Spino. The Grand Feature Parade steps off at 10 a.m. Saturday with honorees, bands and floats. An outdoor Mass on the main stage closes the weekend at 10 a.m. Sunday, led by the festival’s Man of the Year, Father Patsy Iaquinta.
Food, artisan and craft vendors line the festival grounds through the weekend, and a children’s area offers carnival rides, bounce houses, games and a petting zoo with alpacas.
Festival board consultant Weege Vargo told WV News the event is the second-largest festival in the state. It began in 1979 after organizers found that nearly 40% of people in the Harrison County area were of Italian descent.