Festivity-filled day
Joyce Thornburg of Washington stomp grapes during the Italian Festival in Washington Saturday.
Joyce Thornburg, left, and Ann Scott, both of Washington, compete in a grape-stomping competition during the Italian Festival in Washington Saturday.
Southwestern Pennsylvania Firefighters Pipes and Drum band marches Saturday in the annual Pennsylvania Firemen’s Convention parade.
Jared Nastal, 6, and his grandmother, Cathy McConnell of Washington, wave to participants Saturday during the annual Pennsylvania Firemen’s Convention parade in downtown Washington.
Levi Bristor, 2, of Washington blows a horn Saturday as the annual Pennsylvania Firemen’s Convention parade marches on South Main Street in Washington.
Michele DeFede hopes she and a few other Washington business owners can revive the city’s long-dormant Italian heritage festival.
“They actually had it through the ’80s, and people grew out of it,” she said. “We are a new generation starting this.”
DeFede and fellow organizers saw their work come to fruition Saturday during the inaugural Washington Italian Festival at the Community Pavilion.
“We just wanted to do a community event,” she said. “It was not hard getting people involved.”
Defede, who co-owns The Upper Crust Italian Bistro with her husband, John DeFede, worked with another couple of South Main Street business owners, Angela and John Burgess – who co-own The Washington Winery and A&M Wine and Beer Supplies – to organize the festival.
On his father’s side, John DeFede’s family came from New York City, home of the massive, yearly Feast of San Gennaro.
“He was always like, ‘We need to bring that to Washington,'” Michele DeFede said.
The Burgesses and DeFedes didn’t know when they began planning the festival it would coincide with the annual state Firemen’s Convention Parade. But the procession of hundreds of trucks, bands and marching formations drew a crowd to the parade route, which passed along South Main Street beside the pavilion.
Hank Maroda, 88, a life member and former chief of Wilkins Township Volunteer Fire Company 3 in Allegheny County, said a contingent of firefighters from his company attends the parade together every year.
“We go out east,” he said. “We’ve had a truck in it for I don’t know how many years.”
Tammy Perkins, 49, of Scenery Hill, sported a floral design from a face painter at the festival as she watched the trucks pass.
“It’s nice to see the guys who are willing to come out (to volunteer),” said Perkins, whose son is a volunteer firefighter in Carnegie.
Art in the Garden, a yearly event at LeMoyne House, was also held Saturday.
Many parade attendees stuck around to browse among the booths.
“Our goal was to reach 3,000 people for the day” or a few hundred people an hour, said John DeFede in the early afternoon. “I feel like we might be exceeding that.”
Scheduled events included a disc jockey, grape stomp, a meatball-eating contest and Monroeville musician Nick Fiasco covering Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.
An alcoholic beverage booth run by Olivia Scott Foundation and food vendors focused on Italian cuisine.
“We wanted to limit everything to Italian, so we really kept to the theme,” Burgess said.
A bocce court beside the booth of the local Sons and Daughters of Italy lodge, which grants scholarships to two students with Italian ancestry every year, added traditional flair – as did the hot and sweet sausages the group was selling.
“We’re just here for exposure. We plan to just break even on the sausage sandwiches,” said Lisa Aprea, the social club’s secretary.