(Omaha, NE) -- After being canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Omaha's Santa Lucia Italian Festival is back.
For the first time in nearly two decades, the festival returns to the area of its home neighborhood this weekend. The 97th annual festival will be held near 10th & William Streets, in front of St. Frances Cabrini Church and Sons of Italy. The festival committee was forced to move the festival from its most recent location at the Lewis & Clark Landing, due to the $300 million riverfront revitalization project.
The Santa Lucia Italian Festival originated in Omaha’s Little Italy in 1925, located near 6th and Pierce streets, and is one of the Midwest’s longest running festivals. “We are extremely excited to be back in the neighborhood where it all started”, said festival president Todd Procopio.
Procopio tells NewsRadio 1110 KFAB that those attending the festival will have to find street parking in the surrounding neighborhoods, but that organizers will have golf carts available to give people rides up to the festival. "If they hail one of those down, they can get a ride up to the festival site."
The festival will run Thursday, July 8th through Sunday, July 11th. In recent years, the festival was held the first weekend in June. But, due to the pandemic, organizers pushed it back a month to allow for a less restrictive experience. You can find more details here.