San Jose’s Italian Family Festa 2024: What to eat, drink this weekend

Polenta, sausage, ravioli, meatballs, cannoli -- and Italian corn on the cob

The 42nd annual Italian Family Festa, being held Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 3-5, at History Park in San Jose, will feature grape stomping, pizza dough tossing, live music, bocce, a cultural zone with regional costumes, a Roman encampment …

And plenty of food, wine and beer.

Look for the Tricarico Club’s polenta with sausage and the Sons of Sicily’s ravioli and sausage. Tony and Alba’s will sell slices of pizza. Members of the sponsoring Italian American Heritage Foundation will make meatball sandwiches and fill cannoli to order.

Aroma Concessions will offer portobello mushroom sandwiches, eggplant pesto sandwiches, fried artichokes and fried zucchini. The Risotto’s booth will sell bruschetta, caprese and fruit cups. And King Cobb Corn will make Italian-style corn on the cob with alfredo-pecorino sauce and basil.

Chef John D’Ambrosio of Giorgio’s and the New York Sausage Co. will toss pizza dough and tell kitchen tales at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Cultural & Culinary Pavilion. At noon Sunday, chef Joe Lucito of Giorgio’s will demonstrate a pasta with asparagus dish at the same venue.

Five wineries are set to pour varietals in the shaded Wine Tasting Garden — Bargetto, Fortino, Guglielmo, Rosa d’Oro and A16 restaurant owner Shelley Lindgren’s Tansy Wines. Lindgren is the co-author of “Italian Wine: The History, Regions and Grapes of an Iconic Wine Country.”

New this year will be Fort Point Beer Company’s Italian-style Sfizio Pilsner.

Specialty vendor booths will feature salami, jams, biscotti, dried pasta, olives, oils and vinegars, dried fruit, nuts, honey, toffee, cookies and more.

Details: Limited free and paid parking near History Park, 1650 Senter Road; carpooling and ride-sharing encouraged. Find maps, schedule of events at www.italianfamilyfestasj.org.