One of Buffalo’s most popular summer festivals is returning home this weekend. The Galbani Italian Heritage Festival will be back on Hertel Avenue. The event has not taken place in North Buffalo since 2016.
This year the three-day festival will kick off tomorrow between Delaware and Virgil. Mark Sciortino, Chef Marco, owner of Marco’s Italian Restaurant on Hertel Avenue in North Buffalo joined us to tell us about the festival.
What can we expect this year? Chef Marco says, “You can expect the Italian heritage, the old school traditional Italian festival. This is WNY’s kitchen table, everyone comes around to gather, to break bread, to eat, and to enjoy the sights, the sounds, the smells. The entertainment is spectacular, the food is great, and the cooking demos are second to none.”
At the festival there will be a celebrity cheese building competition for charity, using Galbani string cheese. The winner gets a $1,000 for the charity of their choice. AM Buffalo’s Mercedes Wilson is participating in this event.
Some of the entertainment includes DJ A, Charles DiRaimondo, the Buffalo Jazz and Swing Band, and Angelo Venuto on Friday and DJ A, Christina Custode, Custode & Parisi Jazz Trio, Austin Giorgio and Frank Scinta on Saturday. On Sunday check out DJ A, the celebrity cheese building contest for charity, Italian Idol and the band Allegro.
Chef Marco makes a cinnamon berry ricotta toast and shows us an easy way to make a tiramisu ricotta cannoli.
The Galbani Italian Heritage Festival is July 15th & 16th from 11am until 9pm and on Sunday, July 17th from 11am until 6pm.
For more information go to buffaloitalianfestival.com
