The annual FESTA! is the largest Italian cultural festival on the West Coast and will celebrate 22 years on Sunday, Oct. 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The streets of San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood will be filled with over 120,000 visitors from all over the world, paying tribute to and celebrating the Italian heritage and culture that created this iconic neighborhood. FESTA! features Italian food, al fresco dining, authentic Italian music on three difference stages, a Sicilian flag procession, street stickball and bocce ball tournaments, Gesso Italiano (Italian Chalk) and more!

FESTA! is not only a celebration of Little Italy San Diego’s historic past, but also a time to recognize the success of the Little Italy community and how it’s transformed into one of the top neighborhoods in the country.

FESTA! was created in 1994 to symbolize Little Italy’s Italian homecoming and establish an annual day of celebration for the community to highlight its growth and development. What started as a 10 vendor festival is now at 150 vendors and spans 12 blocks of San Diego’s Little Italy. In 2015, the Little Italy FESTA! merged with The Sicilian Festival to bring the cultural aspects of both events together in one massive celebration, which will continue to take place each year. FESTA! celebrates a dream come true for Italian Americans in the San Diego community.