La Festa Italiana, taking place Sept. 4 through 7 in Scranton, marks 50 years of celebrating Italian culture and cuisine.
In 2026, Scranton’s La Festa Italiana turns 50. The annual free festival celebrates all things Italian, from delicious food to lively performances, right in downtown Scranton. Read on to learn about the history of the festival and all you need to know to attend.
The history of La Festa Italiana
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, tens of thousands of Italian immigrants made their way to Northeastern Pennsylvania, settling in the Wyoming Valley and taking difficult work in the anthracite coal mines and with the railroads. As a result, the region today has one of the strongest Italian American communities in the country. That heritage—and the creation of fraternal organizations and Italian parishes—laid the groundwork for a festival like La Festa Italiana.
La Festa, as the festival is known in the community, first got its start in 1976. Back then, the United States was celebrating its 200th anniversary, and the festival was launched as a way for the Italian American community to celebrate the bicentennial with the larger community of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
As an annual festival, La Festa was a “gift that could keep on giving,” Robert W. Pettinato, a former Lackawanna County Commissioner involved in the creation and planning of the first festival, told the Tri-County Independent in 2022.
Downtown Scranton’s Courthouse Square was chosen as the festival site because it was Scranton’s version of an Italian “piazza”—the town square that functions as the heart of a community, serving as social hub, market space, and performance venue.
The first La Festa in 1976 saw as many as 20,000 visitors. Today, La Festa is a Labor Day tradition that regularly attracts more than 150,000 people to downtown Scranton and Courthouse Square for Italian American food, fun, and community.
When to go
La Festa takes place Friday, Sept. 4 to Monday, Sept. 7 (Labor Day). Festival hours are as follows:
- Friday, Sept. 4: 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Saturday, Sept. 5: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Sunday, Sept. 6: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Monday, Sept. 7: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Take in La Festa Italiana
La Festa Italiana is completely free, so you can wander the booths and check out live entertainment without paying for admission. The festival welcomes dozens of vendors each year selling arts, crafts, Italian-themed merchandise, or delicious food and drink (though alcohol is not served at the family-friendly festival). You’ll find a host of Italian favorites like pasta, pastries, and pizza—including Old Forge pizza—as well as a cappuccino tent meant to evoke the sidewalk cafes of Italy. (A handful of vendors also sell other eats like barbecue, roasted corn, and traditional festival foods.) Many Scranton-area restaurant favorites will be present, as well as traveling vendors.
The festival hosts two stages for entertainment: Alfredo’s Main Stage and the Wayne Bank Stage. These stages will feature dance troupes, local and Italian bands, cover bands and tribute shows, and many other types of performances. On Sept. 7, Alfredo’s Main Stage will even host a cannoli-eating contest (where do we sign up?).
Some of the entertainment highlights include performances by La Festa’s premier Italian vocalist T.J. Capobianco, a Scranton-area tenor who has performed with the Metropolitan Opera in New York; a Billy Joel tribute featuring Frank Provinzano as well as Ken McGraw’s Brass & Ivory Band; touring Italian American group Ray Massa’s EuroRhythms Italian Show Band; oldies group the Cameos; the Ballet Theatre of Scranton featuring Italian folk dancing; and a Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin tribute.
Festivalgoers might also spend time playing the Italian game of bocce or bringing children to the Onvo Kids Zone for family-friendly activities.
Celebrate 50 years of La Festa
The 50th year of La Festa—a festival originally inspired by the U.S.’s 200th anniversary—fittingly coincides with the country’s semiquincentennial. As the 2026 edition of the festival will be celebrating five decades of La Festa, festivalgoers will find many opportunities to learn about the festival’s history and Italian culture as a whole.
A heritage tent will display mementos and memorabilia about the past 50 years of La Festa. You can also check out exhibits about famous Italian Americans, both local and national, as well as art displays. A cultural tent, new to the festival, will focus on acquainting visitors with different aspects of Italian culture, including history, cuisine, music, and more.
More La Festa festivities
Besides the traditional festival atmosphere, La Festa is home to a memorial 5K race and a car show. A traditional Catholic Mass in Italian also coincides with the festival.
Captain James R. Minicozzi Memorial Race
The 14th Annual Captain James R. Minicozzi Memorial Race will take place on the festival Saturday, Sept. 5. The event includes a 5K race and 1-mile walk in honor of Captain James R. Minicozzi, who before his death was a member of the La Festa Italiana board of directors and the Scranton chapter of the Italian American service organization UNICO. Proceeds support local college scholarships and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
The race starts at 10 a.m., and you can register online.
Car show and sfilata di macchine (“parade of cars”)
You can check out the festival car show and accompanying sfilata di macchine—that’s “parade of cars” in Italian—on the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 5.
Starting at 1 p.m., admire vintage European and Italian sports cars, motorcycles, and Vespa scooters on downtown Scranton’s North Washington Avenue. Awards and the parade itself will take place at 3:30 p.m.
Italian Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Peter
La Festa also celebrates with an annual Catholic Mass in Italian, which will be held at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 6, at Scranton’s Cathedral of Saint Peter. The cathedral is within walking distance of the festival. The Mass will also be streamed online by the Catholic Diocese of Scranton.
