Festival goers at La Festa Italiana enjoy variety of ethnic foods

Sep. 2—SCRANTON — Rachel May could barely contain her excitement as she eyed up the meat, veggies and cheese bursting from the gyro she had just purchased from a vendor at La Festa Italiana on Saturday afternoon.

"Isn't this gyro beautiful?" she said as she prepared to devour the popular Greek sandwich. "It's got a whole hunk of feta (cheese). I'm so excited!"

If anyone expected the 28-year-old Scranton woman to have even the slightest twinge of guilt about eating Greek food at an Italian festival, she had a message for them: Sorry; not sorry.

"I'm an Irish girl who comes to eat Greek food at an Italian festival. Is there anything more American than that?" she said with a laugh.

As the name implies, the festival on Courthouse Square is known for its Italian food, but there are several other options as well, including Polish and American offerings.

"We're about 75% Italian, 25% other international flavors," said Chris DiMattio, festival chairman and president. "You have to have a variety to keep everyone happy."

May promised to share her gyro with her boyfriend, Bill Schultz, 32, before they went to check out other food stands.

"This is the just the first stop," Schultz said. "We're going to hit them all."

Festivalgoers seeking Italian delicacies have a wealth of choices from the dozens of vendors, who offer everything from dinners — including chicken Parmesan and pasta dishes — to grab-and-go items, including porketta sandwiches and garlic knots and desserts, including cannolis.

Have a taste for pizza? There's a variety to choose from, including traditional style, wood-fired pizza and a vegan option.

Dee Knight, 54, and her fiancé, John Errico, 54, drove 4 1/2 hours from Jamestown, New York, to get one of the more unique pizza offerings — eggplant Parmesan made by Electric City Pizza owner John McDonald.

"It's got a really good flavor," Knight said. "It tastes like fried green tomatoes."

McDonald said the eggplant slices are his biggest seller.

"We make it especially for the festival," he said. "It's a lot of work because we hand bread the eggplant, but people here just love it."

While the food is a big draw, festivalgoers also have plenty of entertainment opportunities. They can catch performances by any of the multiple musical acts scheduled throughout the event. There also are play areas for children to enjoy.

Kathleen Connors, 34, of South Abington Twp., tried her hand at playing bocce with her 3-year-old son, Nolan, and 15-year-old niece, Ella Tost.

"We have no idea what we're doing," Connors confessed.

That did not matter to Nolan, who joyfully threw the balls in the taped-off area.

A short distance away, Mary Boyle enjoyed the day with her 3-year-old daughter, Serena, who was super excited to get her face painted as a unicorn.

Boyle, 29, of Scranton, said she comes to the festival each year and is excited to continue the tradition.

"I've been coming as long as I can remember. Now we're passing it down to the next generation of little ones," she said.

DiMattio said he was pleased with the turnout for the festival, which continues Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Monday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

"I'm in shock every year," he said. "People just love this festival. I'm so happy for our committee and the whole community."

Contact the writer:

tbesecker@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9137;

@tmbeseckerTT on Twitter.