BY CINDY SCHROEDER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT -- Since Newport's Festa Italiana began in 1992, south Newport native Mary Pellillo has never missed a day of it.
"Honey, I'm there all four days," Miss Pellillo said from her home overlooking the festival site at the Newport Shopping Center. "I especially like the opera night. It's so classy, just like the whole event. They serve wine and beer, but the people behave themselves. It's just like one big family reunion."
Newport's seventh annual Italian festival kicks off with a 6 p.m. opening ceremony on June 11, followed by the Italian opera selections that have become one of the festival's biggest draws. The event, which features music, contests for everything from cooking to pizza throwing, and more than 20 Italian delicacies cooked by 11 Greater Cincinnati vendors, runs June 11-14 in the parking lot of the Newport Shopping Center.
"It's getting bigger and better each year," said Newport City Clerk Frank Peluso, who has served on the festival's organizational committee since its inception.
The festival can trace its start to Labor Day weekend 1991 when Newport Mayor Tom Guidugli and City Commissioner Jerry Peluso observed the crowds along Kentucky's Ohio riverfront, awaiting the Riverfest fireworks.
The two politicians began discussing the need for an event that would provide family entertainment, while reflecting Newport's rich cultural heritage, and residents' community pride.
The first festival was a modest affair, lasting only two days and drawing about five food vendors, including a German restaurant selling "traditional Italian" sausage, and hastily-converted Chinese to Italian cuisine.
From that first event drawing only 5,000 visitors, the festival has grown to a four-day affair that attracted 40,000 guests last year, Frank Peluso said. Last year's dignitaries included Vice President Al Gore, who was in Northern Kentucky for a Democratic fund-raiser.
Besides the usual entertainment, such as the performances by the New Jersey-based Italian singer, Morano Fruzzetti, this year's events include a golf outing at Devou Park, starting at 8:30 a.m. June 12, and a Spaghetti Knob 5K Run at 7 p.m. on June 12. Participants can register for either event by calling Frank Peluso or Phil Ciafardini at 292-3666.
The mayors of the river cities also will take part in a pizza throwing contest at 7 p.m. June 13. The winner will have $500 donated to the charity of his or her choice by the owner of LaRomano's restaurant in Covington.
On the final day of the festival, a college scholarship of at least $250 will be awarded to a Greater Cincinnati high school senior of Italian descent.
"It's a Newport tradition," Miss Pellillo said of the festival. "Covington has their (Maifest), Cincinnati has their Oktoberfest, and Newport has Italian Fest."
