Italian American Festival set

WATKINS GLEN--The Watkins Glen Italian American Festival will again fill Clute Park with Italian food offerings, entertainment, vendors and amusements, Friday to Sunday, Aug. 11 to 13.
The festival will open at 1 p.m. Friday. In addition to the regular attractions, events for the day include bingo from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and live entertainment from Devon Franks at 8 p.m.
Saturday's main events include the festival parade at noon and the fireworks display at 10:15 p.m. The parade begins at 12th and Decatur Street, goes north on Decatur Street to Fourth Street, then east on Fourth Street to Clute Park. The parade announcer is stationed at the end of the route by Clute Park. The day will also include a bocce tournament beginning at 10 a.m., while the rest of the festival opens at noon. There is bingo again from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., and the pasta eating contest at 4 p.m. Live entertainment by RUST starts at 7:30 p.m.
The event runs from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Rusted Bucks Band will play from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., bingo will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 3 p.m. will mark the judging for the motorcycle show at the event.
There are also two competitions over the weekend. Saturday is for wine making and Sunday is for pasta sauce. Entries need to be in by 1 p.m. with judging at 2 p.m. on the respective days.
This year will also mark the return of the popular cake booth presented by the Lake Country Players.
Proceeds from the annual festival are returned to the Schuyler County community in donations to youth groups and other charitable organizations. More than $80,000 has been distributed over the years.
Times, events and participants are tentative and subject to change. See www.watkinsglenitalianamericanfestival.org for updates about the event.