This Weekend's Festival Is 'Occasione di Festa' For Italians Celebrating Columbus Day

It’s Columbus Day weekend and everyone’s Italian.

That's because, locally, it's again time to celebrate Italian heritage and Columbus Day with the Italian Festival in Seaside Heights all weekend. The large scale celebration of all things Italian will culminate with the tremendous Columbus Day parade in Seaside Heights on Sunday.

There's live bands, food, dancing, music, culture, vendors ... Tante cose! (That's Italian for "so many things!")

Time to wave the green, white and red.

Cindy Vetrulli takes decorating her home for the festivities to the max. (That’s “massimo” in Italian.)

The front of their Sherman Avenue home in Seaside Heights is decorated in plenty of Italian regalia, and it’s become an annual tradition where several cousins (that’s “cugini” in Italian) join in the task, and they all enjoy the weekend-long celebration together, she said.

The Italian flag (il Tricolore) was even raised over the to mark the occasion. The Board of Chosen Freeholders led a ceremony at noon today before sending il Tricolore up the flag pole for the weekend.

Here is a round up of some of the Columbus Day and Italian Festival events going on:

• Friday, October 7: 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

• Saturday, October 8: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Sunday, October 9, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Columbus Day Parade:  , October 9, 1 p.m. on the Boulevard, Seaside Heights

Also, Toms River Regional Schools are closed Monday October 10, Columbus Day.

Check out the attached video of last year's Italian Festival, as everyone joins in some Sicilian dancing.