Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) – Just a week before the landmark 50th anniversary of the Buffalo Italian Heritage Festival, the city honored the timely tradition in North Buffalo by unveiling a new trailblazing sign designating Hertel Avenue as “Italian Festival Way”.
“What started 50 years ago on Connecticut Street has grown into one of the largest and most beloved Italian festivals in the country,” said Mike Sciortino brand ambassador for Galbani cheese and also known as “Chef Marco”. “We’re here today to celebrate this incredible journey, those roots and the people who have kept it alive, thriving generation-after-generation. The festival was started by the late, great Edward Porto, and today we’re honored to be joined by his daughter Judy Porto-Fiorella, who now serves as festival president and continues the family legacy.”
Porto-Fiorella says the founding group for the Italian Festival, which included her father, was driven by a passion that helped shape the very roots of this festival…