Save your appetite, put on your lederhosen. It's festival season in Erie County

We’re heading into the prime of Erie’s ethnic festival season. The Greek Festival was already a huge success in July, and now the Italians, Poles, Germans and Irish will have their turns.

St. Paul’s Italian Festival kicks off Friday on the church grounds at 1617 Walnut St. Standing in line, waiting to buy pasta e fagioli, is always a highlight of summer, and the dinner is set for 5 p.m. Friday.

A spaghetti-eating contest for kids is a featured attraction Saturday, followed by a huge spaghetti dinner in the school gymnasium Sunday.

Zabawa, Erie’s Polish Heritage Festival, will celebrate its 30th anniversary at Holy Trinity Catholic Church on Aug. 25-27. Great food, music and Polish beer always make this one of the most popular festivals of the year.

Next comes the German Heritage Festival Sept. 2 at St. Nick’s Grove. Again, there will be plenty of food, music, and lots of people dressed in their finest native costumes.

Music, beer and Irish whiskey make Erie’s Irish Festival special. It’s scheduled for Sept. 15-17, on the grounds of St. Patrick Catholic Church, and several of the finest Irish bands in the East are set to perform.

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● Dan Rice Days have already passed, but a special lecture on Rice, billed as “The Most Famous Man You Never Heard Of,” is scheduled for Wednesday at the Battles Estate White House, 306 Walnut St., Girard.

Though Rice, who died in 1900, might not be a popular celebrity today, before the Civil War he was considered one of America’s greatest entertainers. I read a terrific book about Rice a few years back, and in his time there were few bigger stars.

● This week’s Italian Festival always reminds me of the late, great Angie DiTullio, wife of Hector DiTullio, who played such a big role in helping to start the event.

I’m glad to hear that Esther Gallagher, daughter of Hector and Angie, is recovering after a recent illness. Esther was a highly respected teacher for years in the Erie School District.

● A new sign on the front of the former Erie Donut Factory in the Summit Plaza on Peach Street near Washington says that “Coney Island of Erie, Hot Dog Shoppe,” will open soon. A city can never have too many quality hot dog restaurants.

● At the recent craft show at Panama Rocks in Panama, New York, shoppers were pleased to see and chat with Marc Blucas, the hall of fame basketball star from Girard who went on to a successful acting career. Blucas is still getting great reviews for his performance in the Great American Family holiday movie “A Christmas ... Present."

Blucas, who starred on the court for Wake Forest, often makes it home to visit family and old friends.

● Scott Lightner sends word that East High School’s Class of 1968 will mark its 55th reunion on Thursday at the Bullfrog at Andy’s Pub. The fun will start at 6:30 p.m. Call Scott at 814-873-1406 for more information.

● Jon Christensen, who died July 19 in New Smyrna, Florida, at the age of 77, was an excellent high school football coach. After serving as head coach at Northwestern High School from 1968-74, Jon took over as head coach at his alma mater, Academy High School.

It didn’t take him long to turn the Lions into a winner, and when Christensen’s 1976 team knocked off Cathedral Prep, 24-6, it clinched Academy’s first city championship since 1945. Christensen also coached McDowell, and his family later moved to Florida, where he compiled a winning record first as a coach and later as a school administrator.

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● Many area residents are dealing with insurance companies after a recent storm tore through the region, damaging roofs and siding with high winds and hail. In some cases, large portions of siding must be replaced because the individual strips do not match weathered siding. That storm was a doozy.

● Sorry to hear that people are leaving piles of trash at the war memorials on Glenwood Park Avenue, near East 26th Street. Volunteers have been spending their mornings cleaning up the refuse near the monuments.

● Recent trades apparently so demoralized young players on the Cleveland Guardians that the club’s top two executives, Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff, raced to the airport and caught a flight to Houston to meet with the players.

It didn’t help much; the Guardians were no-hit in the second game of the series and ended up losing three straight to the Astros. Antonetti and Chernoff could not argue that the club was not throwing in the towel on the season, even though Cleveland was just a half-game out of first when the first trade took place.

Breaking down the trade deadline: Aaron Civale trade a tug-of-war between value and timing

Kevin Cuneo can be reached at kevin.cuneo1844@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie PA ethnic festival season hits its stride