West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival Officially Underway in Downtown Clarksburg
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — One of Clarksburg’s biggest weekends of the year is officially underway.
The 47th annual West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival opened Friday in downtown Clarksburg, beginning three days of Italian food, live music, family traditions and cultural celebrations along West Main Street.
Festival activities are centered along Main Street between Second and Fifth streets, where food and artisan vendors, entertainment, cooking demonstrations, cultural exhibits and other activities will continue through Sunday.
Friday’s opening included one of the festival’s signature traditions, the Coronation of Regina Maria XLVII, with Marra Rose Johnson leading the 2026 Royal Court.
There is still plenty ahead for visitors heading downtown Friday afternoon and evening.
The Morra Contest begins at 5 p.m., followed by a full evening of entertainment on the Main Stage. Leroy & Gigs are scheduled for 5:15 p.m., followed by Italian tenor Moreno Fruzzetti at 6:25 p.m., Benjamin DeFazio at 7:35 p.m., Olivia Spino at 8:45 p.m. and Amici at 9:30 p.m.
Throughout the weekend, visitors can also stop by the festival’s Fritti Booth near City Hall, watch live cooking demonstrations at the Galbani Cooking Stage near Fourth and Main streets and explore food vendors, exhibits and shopping throughout the festival grounds.
The Gallery at James & Law Company, featuring artists, artisans and authors, is open Friday and Saturday from noon until 9 p.m. The festival’s annual photography contest is also on display at the Clarksburg History Museum.
Saturday morning brings another of the festival’s best-known traditions when the Grand Feature Parade begins at 10 a.m. The route follows Pike Street between Fifth and Second streets before continuing along Second Street toward Main Street.
Entertainment continues throughout Saturday, including another performance by Fruzzetti at 4:30 p.m. Saturday night’s featured performance is “Live and Let Die: The Music of Paul McCartney,” featuring Tony Kishman, at 7:40 p.m. Amici returns to close the evening beginning at 9:30 p.m.
Sunday begins with the traditional Outdoor Mass at 10 a.m.
The final day also includes the Meatball Eating Contest at 1:10 p.m. before West Virginia native and Grammy Award-winning singer Kathy Mattea takes the Main Stage at 2:55 p.m. Amici is scheduled to perform again at 5 p.m.
The weekend continues a Clarksburg tradition that began in 1979, when community leaders created the festival as a way to celebrate the Italian American heritage that has played such an important role in shaping Clarksburg and north central West Virginia.
Nearly five decades later, the festival has grown into a Labor Day weekend tradition that organizers say attracts more than 30,000 visitors to Clarksburg each year.
For many families, it is also a homecoming.
The food, music and entertainment draw thousands downtown, but the festival has remained rooted in the same purpose that inspired its creation: honoring the past, celebrating the present and preserving Italian heritage for future generations.
The West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival continues Saturday and Sunday in downtown Clarksburg.
The complete festival schedule, map and vendor information are available at wvihf.com.
