BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – The Galbani Italian Heritage Festival will be held on Hertel Avenue once again this summer, with organizers on Wednesday officially announcing the dates of the 2023 event.

The beloved street festival will bring Buffalo’s robust Italian dining scene back to North Buffalo in mid-July, running Friday through Sunday, July 14-16. The three-day event is free to attend and will open at 11 a.m. each day.

Buffalo’s Italian Festival returned to Hertel Avenue last year after several years away from its longtime venue, much to the excitement of local business owners.

The festival left the Little Italy neighborhood along Hertel Avenue in 2017 and was held at the Outer Harbor for two years. It moved to Niagara Square in 2019, and then took two years off due to the pandemic. The Italian Festival was first held at St. Anthony’s Church downtown in the 1950s before relocating to Connecticut Street in the 1970s and Hertel Avenue in the late ’80s.

The 2023 event will span three blocks on Hertel, from Delaware Avenue to Virgil Avenue, just like last year. Street parking will be available in the surrounding area.

Over 40 restaurants and vendors were in attendance at the 2022 event, including several traditional favorites. Entertainment included numerous musical performances and cooking demonstrations, as well as the celebrity cheese stacking competition that featured several of your favorite News 4 personalities.

More information about this year’s festival will be announced at a later date.