St. Paul’s Italian Festival returns to downtown Erie for 2025

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Chuck & Ginny’s recipes for sauce, ravioli and meatballs find new life through great-grandson Nathan Goetz’ food truck, called C&G’s.

The St. Paul’s Italian Festival returns to Erie, Pennsylvania, Aug. 8-10, 2025.The festival features traditional Italian food, including pasta e fagioli and spaghetti, as well as drinks and pastries.The festival will honor the late Ronald DiVecchio, a longtime contributor.

Maybe it’s the authentic Italian food that gets your stomach rumbling. Maybe it’s the movements of the Italian dancers that has your feet excited. Either way an Erie favorite festival returns and is set to take place Aug. 8-10 on Walnut St.

The 2025 Italian Festival at St. Paul’s Catholic Church at 1617 Walnut St. returns to Erie with the classic Italian Festival staples in place.

What can you expect at this year’s Italian Festival?

What’s on the menu for the St. Paul’s Italian Festival?

Starting on Aug. 8, the menu at St. Paul’s Italian Festival will be filled with authentic Italian foods from chicken parmesan, pepperoni balls, pasta fagioli, pastries and more.

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The two main courses will be pasta e fagioli on Friday and spaghetti on Saturday.

The menu also includes beverages from coffee to lemonade to alcoholic selections for ages 21 and older.

The full menu and prices can be found on the Italian Festival’s Facebook page.

The Italian Dancers of Erie

It’s time to dance the tarantella, a fast and upbeat tempo dance accompanied by tambourines originating from the regions of Calabria. The tarantella is one of the most recognized forms of southern Italian dances.

The Italian Dancers of Erie will be dancing at Italian Fest on Aug. 8 and 9 at 5 p.m. each day and Aug. 10 at 1 p.m.

Remembering a familiar face at St. Paul’s Italian Festival

This year the Italian Festival might feel a little different after the loss of a key member.

Ronald DiVecchio, aka Ronnie, died on Nov. 24, 2024 in Erie. He served the Italian Festival for over 40 years and has been deemed “Chairman for Life.” The 2025 chairman is Tim NeCastro, CEO of Erie Insurance.

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If you go…

Contact Nicholas Sorensen at nsorensen@gannett.com.