Buffalo Italian Heritage Festival Returns to Hertel Avenue

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Much of Hertel Avenue in North Buffalo is filled with red, white and green for the annual Italian Heritage Festival that kicked off Friday.

Hertel is closed from Delaware Avenue to Virgil for the celebration of food and fun.

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“I love the energy of the night. You can tell everyone is having a good time,” said Gabriella from Buffalo.

As I walked along Hertel Avenue, I found the street filled with Italian music, people, drinks and of course many food vendors.

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“I love all the food, to be honest, I love seeing all the food,” Gabriella said.

At the Mangia stand, owner Matthew Spangola says they serve a few familiar favorites.

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“We also have fried lasagna, which is unique in the sense that you don’t see it everywhere. We also have fried spaghetti, which is also very original,” Spagnola explained.

Spagnola is operating seven vending booths at the festival this year and also operates lemonade stands.

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At the Melloni sales stand they were preparing different meats.

“These are our sausages that we are putting on the grill right now,” Annmarie Melloni showed.

Melloni showed me all the great homemade Italian sausages at his stand.

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“My father-in-law started with his father’s recipe, and we make it at home. It’s been passed down for generations and now my husband makes it,” Melloni explains. “Mangia! Mangia! Mangia!”

At Romeo and Juliet, David Notaro of Buffalo showed me all the cannoli he helps make.

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“I am purely Italian, it is my heritage!” Notaro said proudly.

Between meals, you can enjoy an authentic Sicilian puppet show. Puppeteer Robert Rogers has been performing at this Italian festival for several years.

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“I bought it a while ago because my parents went to Italy and brought one back for me. It’s not easy to find,” Robert Rogers said.

Other participants, like Chuck Murphy, come for the food and to people-watch.

“I’ve been coming here to the Italian Festival since I was about 10 years old, when it was on Connecticut Street, and now it’s here,” Murphy recalls.

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Murphy tells me his favorite sausage is Italian sausage.

“I was able to buy an Italian sausage, a fried doughnut and a dozen cannoli to take home to my mom,” Murphy noted.

If you’re coming to the Italian Festival, make sure you have a good appetite. You can visit the Buffalo Italian Festival on Friday from 11am to 9pm, Saturday from 11am to 9pm, and Sunday from 11am to 7pm.