West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival Returns to Downtown Clarksburg in Two Weeks
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — One of Clarksburg’s biggest weekends of the year is now just two weeks away.
The 47th annual West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival will return to downtown Clarksburg Sept. 4-6, bringing three days of food, music, Italian-American traditions and thousands of visitors to the heart of the city for Labor Day weekend.
The festival has been a Clarksburg tradition since 1979 and has grown into one of West Virginia’s signature cultural celebrations. Organizers say the three-day street festival annually attracts more than 30,000 visitors.
This year’s festival grounds will once again stretch along West Main Street between Second and Fifth streets, with food and artisan vendors, multiple entertainment areas, children’s activities, cooking demonstrations and many of the traditions that have defined the festival for generations.
The weekend officially begins Friday, Sept. 4, with the Coronation Ceremony of Regina Maria XLVII at noon on the Main Stage in front of the Harrison County Courthouse.
Marra Rose Johnson will serve as Regina Maria XLVII and lead the 2026 Royal Court. The coronation has remained one of the festival’s signature opening-day traditions since the event’s earliest years.
Entertainment will continue throughout Friday, including a 6:25 p.m. performance by Italian tenor Moreno Fruzzetti, who comes to Clarksburg from Tuscany, Italy. Amici will close the Main Stage schedule Friday beginning at 9:30 p.m.
Saturday begins with another of the festival’s most recognizable traditions.
The Grand Feature Parade will step off at 10 a.m. Sept. 5, traveling along Pike Street between Fifth and Second streets before turning toward Main Street.
Saturday’s entertainment lineup includes performances by the Robert C. Byrd High School Show Choir, West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival Dancers, Fruzzetti and others before one of the weekend’s headline shows.
“Live and Let Die: The Music of Paul McCartney,” featuring Tony Kishman, will take the Main Stage at 7:40 p.m. Saturday. The show features music made famous by McCartney and The Beatles.
Amici returns at 9:30 p.m. to close Saturday evening.
Sunday begins with the traditional Outdoor Mass at 10 a.m., another longstanding centerpiece of festival weekend.
West Virginia native and Grammy Award-winning singer Kathy Mattea will headline Sunday afternoon with a 2:55 p.m. performance. Mattea, whose career has included country, folk and bluegrass music, is a native of Cross Lanes and has maintained strong ties to her home state throughout her career.
Amici will perform again at 5 p.m. as the festival moves toward its conclusion.
Beyond the Main Stage, festival organizers have a full slate of activities planned throughout downtown.
The festival’s Fritti Booth will return near City Hall on Third Street, serving the fresh fried bread dough rolled in sugar that has become a familiar festival tradition.
The Galbani Cooking Stage at Fourth and Main streets will feature live demonstrations by local chefs and home cooks. The festival will also include its photography contest at the Clarksburg History Museum, artists and authors at The Gallery inside James & Law Company, the traditional Morra Contest and children’s activities.
A meatball eating contest is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. Sunday in front of the Main Stage.
A car show is also being added to this year’s festival schedule. It is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Jackson Square Parking Facility.
While the main festival is still two weeks away, activities surrounding the celebration begin this weekend.
The annual Bocce Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 22, at Ferguson Memorial Park in Shinnston.
One week later, downtown Clarksburg will host the Pasta Cook-Off on Saturday, Aug. 29, at the Jackson Square Parking Facility. The event begins at 11 a.m. and includes a canned pepper contest, homemade wine contest, sauce tasting and judging, Run for the Rosé and a hot pepper eating contest.
Festival activities continue into the following week with an Authors Forum at the Clarksburg-Harrison Public Library on Sept. 1, followed by the Golf Classic and Elimination Dinner at Bridgeport Country Club on Sept. 2 and the annual Honorees Award Ceremony at the Bridgeport Conference Center on Sept. 3.
Then, on Friday morning, downtown Clarksburg will once again become the center of one of West Virginia’s longest-running cultural celebrations.
The festival was created in 1979 by a group of Clarksburg community leaders who wanted to celebrate the Italian-American families and traditions that helped shape the region. Nearly five decades later, generations of families continue to make Labor Day weekend in Clarksburg an annual tradition.
Admission to the festival and Main Stage entertainment is free.
