BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN).....The Buffalo Niagara region's summer festival season continues in full swing this weekend, highlighted by the 53rd annual Galbani Buffalo Italian Heritage Festival taking place along a busy stretch of Hertel Avenue.
The festival begins this morning and will run through Sunday night along Hertel Avenue - between Colvin Boulevard and Delaware Avenue.
"Hertel becomes Buffalo's 'Little Italy'," said Marco Sciortino, one of the festival's organizers.
Featured this year will be more than 40 food vendors, a wine garden, live entertainment, cooking demonstrations, grape stomping and face painting - among other attractions.
Organizers expect more than 50,000 people to attend.
"It's all about family," Sciortino said. "It's all about tradition."
The festival marks a busy summer weekend of special events spread around the Buffalo Niagara region. CanalFest will be wrapping up its week-long run in North Tonawanda's Gratwick Park while the annual Polish Festival takes place in Cheektowaga and downtown Buffalo hosts a jazz festival .
"Buffalo does try to pack a lot in during the summer," Sciortino said.
The Italian festival traces its roots to 1973 when it started along one block on Connecticut Street. By the late 1980s, it had outgrown Connecticut Street and moved to Hertel Avenue.
Following brief stops along the Outer Harbor and then, Niagara Square, the festival returned to Hertel Avenue a few years back.
"Hertel has been great," Sciortino said.
Merchants along Hertel Avenue embrace the festival because of the number of new visitors it brings.
Sciortino said there is well-documented reports of some Hertel Avenue businesses seeing a spike in customer traffic because of the festival.
"People do come back," Sciortino said.
The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on July 24(Friday) and July 25(Saturday) and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Sunday).
Admission is free.
Annual Italtian festival attracts more than 50,000 people to Hertel Avenue
Annual Italtian festival attracts more than 50,000 people to Hertel Avenue
