For one day in the middle of September, everyone in Lititz is Italian.

"For me, (Italian culture is) special because so much of what I experience is this love of family, community, being joyful together, and it's usually around food," said Justina Latura, one of the organizers of L'Italia Festival. "There's always food. There's so much food, and pride and love in the food. The culture is tied to eating, and all the food is made with love.

"It's very similar to the food culture we're so proud of in Lancaster," continued Latura. "I feel like it's an easy comparison. Tradition is so important in Italian culture, and it's important in Lancaster as well."

In a very short time, L'Italia Festival has taken its place alongside all of the great events that Lititz hosts. This year's edition of the annual celebration of what it means to be Italian will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, downtown on East Main Street, between Cedar Street and Cherry Lane.

The street festival is free to attend, and everyone is welcome.

"It's vibrant, it's festive, it's fun," said Latura. "Italian culture is bubbly, gregarious, and you want to be a part of it. It's high energy. It's friends, it's family. It's just for the community, to support the Italian community."

There will be a lot going on that day. The L'Italia Festival will feature staged musical and vocal performances, live cooking demonstrations, food trucks, food tents, beverage gardens, a kids' activity zone, a car show and a craft market.

"We have the use of a lot of green space," said Latura. "We try to keep it active all day long. The festival is a celebration of Italian culture. It is created for and supported by Italian Americans and people who aren't Italian at all. We really try to highlight culture, food, music and dance."

Last year's L'Italia Festival, which was conducted in Lititz Springs Park, drew nearly 20,000 visitors from all over Lancaster County, surrounding communities and neighboring states.

"L'Italia Festival seems to be a great partnership with the rest of the community," said Latura. "It's really supposed to be a collaborative event. We want it to be a good event for the brick-and-mortars (downtown). I want people to feel welcome and excited. It's going to be our fifth and best year. We really want to thank the community of Lititz for hosting us."

L'Italia Festival began in 2022 as a good idea. It's blossomed through the commitments of its organizers.

"There was a small group of Italians in Lititz; they met around these dinner gatherings and a desire to speak and promote the Italian language," said Latura. "We have a large group of Italians who have immigrated to the Lititz and Lancaster area. It was like, 'Hey, why don't we have this picnic in the summer?' And 3,000 people showed up.

"The next year, we realized we had a festival on our hands," concluded Latura. "We turned a picnic into this great festival in five years. It's a great way to keep the Italian community together and to get everyone to come together."

For additional information, visit https://italiafestpa.org.