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Italian Festivals in the United States

Celebrate Italian Heritage

By , About.com Guide

With more than 26 million people of Italian heritage living in the United States, it's easy to find an Italian heritage festival. Many festivals coincide with Columbus Day and National Italian American Heritage month in October but there are spring and summer Italian festivals, too.

If you can't make it to a festival, you can still visit Little Italy in many North American cities. Here are top places to find Italy in North America.

Here are top Italian festivals in the United States, ordered by month, from March through October.

St. Joseph's Day Parade

March: St. Joseph's Day is celebrated in New Orleans in early March. There's a parade put on by the Italian-American Marching Club and St. Joseph's altars are erected around the city.

Memphis Italian Festival

May: Memphis Italian Festival is usually the last weekend of May in Memphis, Tennessee

North Beach Festival

June: The North Beach festival, usually the second or third weekend of June in San Francisco, is known as the oldest urban street fair in the country. North Beach is San Francisco's Italian neighborhood.

Summer in Little Italy Festival

Summer: New York's Little Italy holds a festival every weekend during summer with sidewalk cafes and special events.

Venetian Night and Boat Parade

July: Chicago's Venetian Night and boat parade is modeled after boat parades in Venice, Italy. May be cancelled for 2010, check the link for updates.

Feast of the Assumption

August: Feast of the Assumption, August 15, is a big holiday in Italy. Cleveland, Ohio, celebrates Feast of the Assumption with a festival.

San Gennaro Festival

September: San Gennaro is a 10-day festival in New York City's Little Italy.

Feast of San Gennaro

September: Feast of San Gennaro is celebrated in Los Angeles with a weekend festival in late September.

Italian Heritage Parade

October: San Francisco's Italian Heritage Parade, held in North Beach on Columbus Day, has been going on since 1868 and is nation's oldest Italian Heritage Parade.

Columbus Italian Festival

October: Columbus Italian Festival is held in Columbus, Ohio, on Columbus Day weekend.

Columbus Day Parade

October: New York City holds an annual Columbus Day parade.

Italian Film Festivals

Italian film festivals are held throughout the year both in the United States and other parts of the world. Here are top Italian film festivals outside Italy.

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