When you think of summer festivals, one place immediately comes to mind — the Village of Lewiston.
Center Street, with its many great restaurants and unique shops, has become a great place to spend a day enjoying a big summer event.
GardenFest, the Jazz Festival, the Art Festival and the Peach Festival are just a few of the many popular events held on and around Center Street every year. It seems like every weekend during the summer there’s something going on with thousands of visitors flooding in.
In 2026, they’ll be adding another big event — the Italian Festival, which has typically been held in Niagara Falls.
Many of us remember the Italian Fests of old, an impressive display of Italian heritage that would draw thousands to a stretch of Pine Avenue that was closed to traffic and open to a feeling of community and celebration. You had your concerts, spaghetti eating contests, bocce tournaments, an Italian Mass at St. Joseph’s and all the Italian food and treats you could ask for.
While many of those elements are still in place today, the event has become a shadow of what it once was.
It’s no fault of the current organizers, Carmine’s Family Catering and the Pax Romana Commission, who’ve done all they could to keep a Niagara Falls tradition going after financial troubles at the former Pine Avenue Business Association began to impact the annual event about 15 years ago. The Cristoforo Colombo Society has also stepped in to help bring the Italian Festival to Pine Avenue but the struggles continued and the event was canceled in 2012.
Carmen Bianco started organizing the event in 2013 but said it hasn’t been easy pulling in the support needed for such an important summertime tradition.
This past year, the Italian Festival was held near the Hyde Park bocce courts and featured music, a bocce tournament, classic cars and traditional Italian food.
Despite the struggles and the location changes, Bianco said the Italian Festival has always drawn a crowd. We’re fairly confident that despite the location change, that will continue.
Following this year’s event in the Falls, it will head to Academy Park with the Lewiston Village Board approving July 17-19, 2026, for use of the park and its facilities.
“We’re glad to have you and we’re looking forward to it,” Mayor Anne Welch said after the vote.
Bianco told the board he’d also like to work with participating vendors and businesses in Lewiston to see if they want to take part in the event after the move. The more the merrier, we say.
While the Italian Festival has been a Niagara Falls tradition we hope everyone is focused on what’s being gained than what’s being lost. We expect the short move north, to a place renowned for its summer events will reinvigorate the festival and help restore some of its former glory.
Whether it’s on Hyde Park, Pine Avenue or Academy Park in Lewiston, the Italian Festival will always remain a celebration of the area’s strong Italian heritage through food, music, fun and cultural events.