WV Italian Heritage Festival returns after 2 year hiatus

CLARKSBURG, W.Va (WDTV) - For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, the West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival is returning to Clarksburg.

On Wednesday, the Harrison County Commission granted festival organizers $3,000 in funding.

County Commissioner David Hinkle says the festival is not only a staple for Clarksburg but for West Virginia and beyond.

“It’s a very important part of our community,” Hinkle said. They’ve done a great job, and I think that the run they’ve had, there aren’t many organizations that can say that they’ve kept it together this long and kept the growth up and they do a great job with it.”

While the actual festival doesn’t officially kick off until Labor Day weekend, there’s all sorts of fun building up to it, like the Italian Bred Comedy Show, the Golf and Bocce Tournaments and the Honoree Award at the end of August.

After that, Festival Chairman Tyler Terango says comes his favorite part, the calm before the storm, and then …

“The streets are soon going to be filled with great food, great heritage and people just loving to be back together,” Terango said. “I think we’re really going to be seeing more of that this year because it’s been such a long hiatus since we’ve been together.”

A 43 year tradition for Italians and lovers of Italian culture, it’s more than just food and fun. It’s the people you’re experiencing it with.

“It’s amazing to me almost year after year you can look at the same spot on the street and see the same group of people that still gather together and just the type of tradition that carries over,” Terango said.

Click here for information on the West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival events.

Copyright 2022 WDTV. All rights reserved.