news-record.com

It was a great afternoon....and who would have thought the weather would have been so perfect for the event.

As a local participant I say YES to all the comments above...more vendors, food, tables and chairs, a more thought out set up so we could walk through and enjoy all that the day had to offer.

Long lines...caused people to stand in front of some vendors ( ie like the excellent coffee guy). Lastly, more trash cans please...and a crew to empty them.

GOOD JOB organizers...and GOOD JOB GREENSBORO for supporting this event.

I thought the event was a big success. It was a beautiful day and everyone there looked like they were enjoying the day. Food was great, but the lines were long. Hopefully, next year it will be bigger. Congratulations to the organizers. I look forward to next year.

Here's what a real Italian festival looks like: http://www.italianamericanclubofvenice.com/Festival.html (and that's what we've been missing). We were looking forward to eating some good Italian food while listening to some great Italian music, but left yesterday's festival very disappointed because no one wanted to stand in the very long lines for the very few food vendors that were there. And the only thing for the kids was a face-painting booth. There were a lot of young families there enjoying the great weather, but please next time have more free activities for the children and more food vendors to accomodate the crowd. There are plenty of restaurants (and Italian delis) around the Triad who serve good Italian dishes - Where were they??

You also need to look to the North at their festivals. I also volunteer for a non-profit, I looked at your vendor rates, way to expensive for a nonprofit group. You need to consider a cheaper fee for a nonprofit group so you can draw some of those groups in there. We came early yesterday and had some food, a glass of wine and left within 35 minutes because there was nothing to do. Greensboro needs more of these events this time of year, I wouldn't touch the weekend, but I would rethink your vendor fees.

No shootings or fights or muggings , Amazing when you get some good peeps together for a calm interesting day of activities.Would like to see more of this in Greensboro.

I applaud the leaders who made this new festival happen. I missed it because I did not hear about it until two days after it was over. In the spirit of helping with valuable feedback, I suggest please get out the publicity a couple weeks earlier next year. Thank you.

I'd like to thank you for taking the time to write about the Italian festival, as well as mentioning those that had such an important part in creating and pulling off the event itself. I can tell that a lot of effort went into the festival, and everyone seemed pleasantly surprised and even a bit overwhelmed by the amazing turnout. I would however like to comment on a few things you wrote in your article.

First, I feel that it is important to comment on more of the positive aspects of the festival. I understand that some vendors ran out of food due to a larger turnout than expected, yet I don't feel that this needed to be the bulk of your article. This was the first in hopefully many festivals, and it seems to me that it is more important to talk about how the festival will evolve and what to expect in the future. Also, long lines, irritable as they may be, do imply a successful event. Nobody enjoys waiting in line, but there was the demand and the attendance that allow these sorts of things to be overlooked and not require more than one comment from visitors to the festival in your article.

I also feel the need to point out that two vendors did not run out of food. Cheesecakes by Alex remained open and serving until the very end, and with Alex being a major sponsor I am glad to see his name mentioned. But Pizzeria L'Italiano were not only the last vendors standing, they had a line over half a block long and kept working the entire time. They had more than enough food, and even fed the other vendors and cleanup crews at the end of the night. I understand that it was a community event, but Pizzeria L'Italiano kept serving a great deal of visitors and worked tirelessly for hours on end. Every time I passed their booth they were moving quickly serving slices, grilling food, wrapping sandwiches, and even singing to please their seemingly endless line of customers. They quickly became the only food at the festival and served everybody, and did not even receive a mention in the paper. I think you overlooked a major part of the festival, and they deserve to be brought to the attention of the public for their dedication and effort.

I can't help but wonder if the person who wrote this article was even present at the festival. As Salvino said, Pizzeria L'Italiano wasn't even mentioned in the article and they clearly were the last vendor standing. The whole crew worked for hours on end despite the heat and endless lines. The owner Rosario Mascali had his whole crew and even his 3 children helping out during the entire event. The food was served with no delay and was absolutley delicious as always. I can't understand why they didn't receive any recognition at all when they clearly were the biggest part of the festival.

Salvino and mmjb: Thanks for your comments.

Yes, in fact, I was at the festival -- twice. Once to see the last two groups of cyclers start their rides and then again mid-afternoon.

I spoke with Alex Amoroso and Tracy Lamothe as they were two of the main sponsors and organizers. I also spoke with Alex Prada after walking by and hearing Prada and staff mention they were running out of gelato.

Sorry to hear the article didn't meet your expectations. I did, however, intend to show the success of the event through the article.

Thanks for the suggestions and recognition of Pizzeria L'Italiano!

--E.A. Seagraves