PARSIPPANY — The Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills held its first “Italian Cultural Event” on Sunday, October 14 on Minnehaha Boulevard between Washington Avenue and North Beverwyck Road.
Although the event slated to start at 1:00 p.m., plenty of people started arriving around 12:30 p.m. and were already lining up at the various food vendors.
By 1:00 p.m., Minnehaha Boulevard was filled up with plenty of people still arriving at both ends. The mandolin and accordion players were making their rounds while the dj was playing classical Italian music.
The tables were filled with people enjoying the festive atmosphere and eating all sorts of fine Italian foods. Everything from sausage & peppers, Linguine with meat and gravy, pizza, rice balls as well as meatballs were sold by various vendors.
On the dessert side, cannolis and zeppolis were a great hit. All flavors of Italian ices and funnel cakes were also available.
The multitude of residents crowded the street and often asked if this street fair could be done regularly. Italian day was really a big hit.
By the late afternoon, many of the food vendors were running low on food and were very surprised by the massive turnout. This being the very first year, many of the vendors didn’t know what to expect as far as turnout and weren’t sure of how much food to bring.
Mayor Michael Soriano said “A Sunday afternoon of good music, food, and friends is always a great success, and I look forward to the 2nd annual Italian Culture Festival.”
“I spoke to every vendor and they were all very happy with how well everything turned out. Not only that, but every vendor wanted to know if and when we were planning on doing this event next year. We are planning on having our Italian Cultural Event next year on Sunday, October 20. This was Mayor Michael Soriano’s idea and it turned out to be a big hit with everyone. We are planning on expanding the festival slightly next year and fine tuning certain things. It was great to be a part of it this year,” said Michael Sifonios, Director of Parks, Forestry and Recreation.
Councilwoman Loretta Gragnani said “A fun day was had by Parsippany residents. An array of delicious Italian food was provided by our local restaurants, civic organizations and food trucks. From sausage and pepper sandwiches, meatballs, Sicilian rice balls and of course dessert, fresh cannoli, funnel cake and zeppolis. It helped that the weather was beautiful which attributed to the large crowds.”
