The Maryland Italian Festival

09/29/2026

🇮🇹❤️ GRAZIE, GRAZIE, GRAZIE! ❤️🇮🇹
What a weekend! To everyone who joined us for The Avena Maryland Italian Festival, presented by Jarrettsville Furniture, Inc. and hosted by the Society of Italian American Businessmen—THANK YOU!

We kicked things off Friday with a fantastic opening night, and while Mother Nature had a few plans of her own for Saturday and Sunday, we made the very best of it. Through the rain, the clouds and everything in between, you still showed up, celebrated with us and helped make this year’s festival one for the books! 🇮🇹

And that means more to us than you may realize.

This festival is the Society of Italian American Businessmen’s largest fundraiser of the year, and an incredible amount of time, resources, volunteer hours and sponsor support goes into bringing it to life.

But it’s about so much more than one weekend.❤️

Over the last 11 years, the Society of Italian American Businessmen has donated more than $1 MILLION back to our community and charitable organizations.

Every ticket purchased.
Every sponsorship.
Every volunteer hour.
Every sausage & pepper.
Every person who showed up and supported the festival.

It all adds up to something much bigger and THAT is something worth celebrating! 🎉

To our guests, sponsors, volunteers, vendors, performers, partners and everyone who worked tirelessly behind the scenes: thank you for believing in our mission and helping us continue to give back.

The tents may be coming down, but our work in the community continues all year long. ❤️

So keep following along! We have plenty of festival memories, photos and highlights still to share, along with updates on the impact your support helps make throughout the year.

And since we know some of you are already wondering...

YES... WE’LL BE BACK IN 2027! 🇮🇹🤌

Stay tuned. We’re just getting started.

Grazie, Maryland! Until next year! 🇮🇹❤️

09/27/2026

09/27/2026

WBEL-Air TV News is live at The Maryland Italian Festival! Come out and join us. Open until 7pm.

Enjoy great food, shopping, entertainment and more! Multiple tented areas 🫶🎪 Thank you so much to everyone for supporting our mission! 🇮🇹🫶

09/27/2026

🇮🇹☀️ GOOD NEWS — WE’RE OPEN TODAY! ☀️🇮🇹

The Avena Maryland Italian Festival, presented by Jarrettsville Furniture, will OPEN TODAY, Sunday, September 27, for our final day of the festival! ❤️

A few important updates before you head our way:

🚪 Festival gates open at 11:00 AM
⛪ Mass has been cancelled for this morning.
🚗 There will be NO satellite parking today. All festival parking will be in the MAIN LOT ONLY.

🎟️ Already have a one-day ticket? If you purchased a one-day ticket but weren’t able to join us Friday or Saturday, your ticket is good for TODAY!

We may not be able to control the weather, but we CAN make the most of the day we have and we’re ready to do just that! 🇮🇹🤌

Come hungry, bring the famiglia and join us for one final day of Italian food, music, culture, community and fun.

And once again, THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us this weekend. This festival is our largest fundraiser of the year, and the proceeds raised through our efforts support the charitable mission of the Society of Italian American Businessmen and the organizations we serve throughout our community. ❤️

Your support truly matters, and we’re incredibly grateful.

Let’s make the final day a great one! See you soon! 🇮🇹❤️

📅 Sunday, September 27
⏰ 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
📍 Ripken Stadium | Aberdeen, MD

09/26/2026

It is with heavy hearts that we have made the difficult decision to close the Maryland Italian Festival for the remainder of this evening, Saturday, September 26.

We know how many of you were planning to spend your Saturday night with us, and no one is more disappointed than our festival team. An incredible amount of time, work and love goes into bringing this celebration to our community each year, and this festival is also our organization’s largest fundraiser of the year.

While tonight did not go as we had hoped, we are incredibly grateful to everyone who joined us so far, as well as our volunteers, vendors, sponsors, performers and community partners who make this festival possible.

Thank you for your understanding and, most importantly, for continuing to support the Maryland Italian Festival and our mission.

Please stay tuned to our page for additional updates.

BREAKING THE The Maryland Italian Festival IS NOW OFFICIALLY CLOSED FOR THE NIGHT

09/26/2026

FREE ENTRY AFTER 7pm TONIGHT! Don’t let a little liquid sunshine hold you back! We’re shopping, eating, singing and dancing in the rain! 🇮🇹🎵💃

Come out and celebrate with us! The festival is rain or shine. Certain activities, such as carnival rides, may need to pause if weather conditions require it, but so far, we are looking good and looking forward to a great weekend 🎪

Cooking demos, w**e seminars, puppet shows, lectures, tarantella and large family picnic areas are all under cover! There are several tented areas! Pack your poncho and let’s make the best of this weekend! 🫶

Come hungry, bring the famiglia and get ready to spend the day enjoying live entertainment, authentic Italian food, Heritage Village, shopping, family activities, Bocce and so much more. 🍝🎶🇮🇹📱

ALSO NEW THIS YEAR! Midway rides added an option to buy wristbands for an unlimited amount of rides! You can still purchase a set amount of “points” if you prefer!

Before you head our way: Check our page throughout the day for the latest festival updates, and visit our “Plan Your Visit” guide pinned to the top of our page for answers to many frequently asked questions, including parking and important festival information.

Should weather conditions impact any other festival activities or schedules, we’ll share updates right here on our social channels. We recommend following along for the latest information throughout the weekend.

And remember...every ticket purchased helps support the mission behind this festival and the Society of Italian American Businessmen’s continued work giving back to our community. ❤️

Society of Italian American Businessmen
WBEL-Air TV News

09/26/2026

IT’S CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS! 🤌🍝🇮🇹

Come out and celebrate with us! The festival is rain or shine. Certain activities, such as carnival rides, may need to pause if weather conditions require it, but so far, we are looking good and looking forward to a great weekend 🎪

Cooking demos, w**e seminars, puppet shows, lectures, tarantella and large family picnic areas are all under cover! There are several tented areas! Pack your poncho and let’s make the best of this weekend! 🫶

Come hungry, bring the famiglia and get ready to spend the day enjoying live entertainment, authentic Italian food, Heritage Village, shopping, family activities, Bocce and so much more. 🍝🎶🇮🇹📱

ALSO NEW THIS YEAR! Midway rides added an option to buy wristbands for an unlimited amount of rides! You can still purchase a set amount of "points" if you prefer!

Before you head our way: Check our page throughout the day for the latest festival updates, and visit our “Plan Your Visit” guide pinned to the top of our page for answers to many frequently asked questions, including parking and important festival information.

Should weather conditions impact any other festival activities or schedules, we’ll share updates right here on our social channels. We recommend following along for the latest information throughout the weekend.

And remember...every ticket purchased helps support the mission behind this festival and the Society of Italian American Businessmen's continued work giving back to our community. ❤️

09/26/2026

🇮🇹The festival is rain or shine. Certain activities, such as carnival rides, may need to pause if weather conditions require it, but we’re looking forward to a great weekend 🎪

Cooking demos, w**e seminars, puppet shows, lectures, tarantella and large family picnic areas are all under cover! There are several tented areas! Pack your poncho and let’s make the best of this weekend! 🫶

🚪 11:00 AM – Festival gates open
🎆 Saturday Night – FIREWORKS!

Come hungry, bring the famiglia and get ready to spend the day enjoying live entertainment, authentic Italian food, Heritage Village, shopping, family activities, Bocce and so much more. 🍝🎶🇮🇹📱

ALSO NEW THIS YEAR! Midway rides added an option to buy wristbands for an unlimited amount of rides! You can still purchase a set amount of "points" if you prefer!

Before you head our way: Check our page throughout the day for the latest festival updates, and visit our “Plan Your Visit” guide pinned to the top of our page for answers to many frequently asked questions, including parking and important festival information.

Should weather conditions impact any other festival activities or schedules, we’ll share updates right here on our social channels. We recommend following along for the latest information throughout the weekend.

And remember...every ticket purchased helps support the mission behind this festival and the Society of Italian American Businessmen's continued work giving back to our community. ❤️

📷: Jennifer Hathaway Profiles