Italian Festival producer: ‘It’s over’
A producer of the Butler Italian Festival said the event will not happen this year in the city, because of an impasse between organizers and Butler officials.
Rocco Lamanna, a producer of the festival, said Sunday, July 14, that organizers are sad they “won’t be doing it” this year.
In an email to the city, Lamanna said the festival would not be able to happen this year if organizers could not begin setting up until 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23 — the day the festival is scheduled to begin. In the email, Lamanna outlines the setup festivals dating back to 2019, and said Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy sent him a new application and permit process in May — an agreement that has still not been finalized.
At a forum meeting of city council Thursday, July 11, the council agreed that the festival’s request to begin setting up Thursday, Aug. 22 — the day before the festival — could not be granted, because it would disrupt the downtown businesses. The city planned to allow setup to begin at 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23.
Dandoy said Sunday that he sent an email to the organizers immediately after city council met, then responded to Lamanna’s return email Saturday afternoon.
According to Dandoy, the city had not finalized a contract with the Butler Italian Festival yet this year, although council already voted to close the street for the weekend, in preparation for the event. Dandoy said he expected his email to the Italian festival, which said council is “more than willing to meet,” to get a response from the organizers.
“I did also send additional response to Italian festival organizers in hopes it would spur on additional conversations,” Dandoy said Sunday. “I was confident that we were going to be able to figure out what we needed to do. I did not expect this level of objection.”
On Sunday, Lamanna said the Italian festival has finalized contracts with the city for the event as early as April, so the delay until summer is abnormal. He also said he just wants the city to place “no parking” signs in the area of the festival, so vendors can get their equipment in place prior to the Friday start.
In his email, Lamanna said he would offer full refunds to vendors and other groups that signed on to be part of the event.
Dandoy said the Italian festival was unique for the city because of the amount of time it went on for — at three days it is the longest event the city hosts. For the past several years of the festival, the city has closed Main Street between Cunningham and Pearl streets so vendors could set up on the streets.
“If it's canceled, it would be because they are pulling it,” Dandoy said.
Lamanna said the festival has always been designed to bring Italian culture to Butler, via a free family event. He also said the Italian festival may never come back to Butler because of how relations between its organizers and city officials have deteriorated.
“It can’t be resurrected,” Lamanna said. “Even next year, I don’t know how we do that now.”
